Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are ground up with bratwurst spices and Granny Smith apples to make a homemade Chicken Apple Brat Burger.

Who says you can’t tailgate and still eat healthy?  Well, they don’t know what they’re talking about, then!  These brat burgers are not only healthy, but MAN are they tasty!  And moist!!  Long gone are those turkey burger or chicken patty days where they were almost hockey pucks in size, shape, and consistency.

Don’t laugh.

You’ve had one and KNOW what I’m talking about.

Admit it.

This is how easy is to to make these brat burgers.  I almost called them patties, but brat patties just doesn’t roll off the tongue right.  You pulse 3, 4, maybe 5 times.

Then you add the apples and shallots and pulse 3, 4, maybe 5 times.

Until it looks sort of like this.

I’m a HUGE advocate for fresh herbs and spices.  See that whole fennel and coriander!  The onion and garlic powder were bought recently.  Then there’s sage and thyme.  Please, check the dates on your herbs and spices.  If there’s not one, TOSS IT!  If you’ve purchased it recently with not date…TOSS IT!  It’s probably not fresh.  The more mainstream companies now have a use by date on them.  LOVE THAT!

I made my own blend.  I have a traditional bratwurst spice blend, but it just didn’t have the emphasis on the notes I wanted to hit.  So, I made my own.  In the AKHA kitchen, sage and thyme are almost a requirement for chicken.

Add your freshly ground spices and pulse again until they’re combined.  Now, at this point do yourself a favor.  Pinch off about a meatball size, fry it up and TASTE your burgers!  Not enough salt?  Not enough pepper?  Want more garlic?  Want some kick?  This is where you need to adjust your spices before cooking up the burgers and realizing it’s too late to fix it.

I wish we could grill.  Not that these didn’t taste amazing already, but grilling would have added just a little smoky deliciousness that a true burger should have.  I miss grilling.

Yup, look at that delicious caramel color in the burgers.  That’s a mix of onion, apple, and chicken heaven browned perfectly!  Since there’s onion AND apple in these babies, they’re still going to be juicy tasty even if they’re cooked just a little too long.  Actually, I reheated one for lunch (in the microwave) the next day, and it was even still tender.  It didn’t turn into a hockey puck.

Oh yeah baby!  That’s a summer ripe tomato and chunk of red onion.  The combination of sweet and spice with those two just elevate this Chicken Apple Brat Burger.  Now, don’t knock my iceberg.  I love that lettuce and unless it’s shredded (which I don’t like on burgers) it’s just not pretty.  But the crisp coolness just rounds this whole burger experience out.

And don’t forget your condiments!!  I highly recommend Not Ketchup and El Diablo Mustard!!

Make sure you visit the others blogs and see what they’ve cooked up for #10DaysofTailgate!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway with fourteen prize packages!