Recipes: Fried Chicken Burger

Some things just belong together – crispy fried chicken and a soft, golden Butter Bun are one of them. This burger brings both to the table (or the backyard barbecue) with juicy, spice-packed chicken, a creamy blue cheese sauce, and just the right amount of heat.

The Butter Bun is the perfect base – slightly sweet, enriched with New Zealand butter, and soft enough to bite through without falling apart. Stack it high with fried chicken, lettuce, pickles, and that blue cheese sauce, and you’ve got yourself a proper crowd-pleaser.

Shop Volare Butter Buns here, or keep reading for the recipe.

Step One: Make Your Fried Chicken

Before you dive in, give your chicken some love – the longer it sits in the marinade, the more flavour you’ll get. A few hours (or overnight) in the fridge makes all the difference. When it’s time to fry, don’t rush it.

Keep your oil steady around 170°C, and remember that first batch will season the oil – the ones after will cook up even better. As each batch comes out golden and crisp, pop them on a raised tray in a low oven to keep them warm (and crunchy) while you finish the rest.

Method

1. Place all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. Add chicken pieces, coat and mix well. Set aside in fridge for at least 1 hour.
2. In a large bowl add all seasoned flour ingredient, mix to combine. Remove marinaded chicken from fridge. Line a tray with baking paper.
3. Put handfuls of the marinaded chicken into the flour. You don’t want to lose too much of the marinade, so make sure a lot goes in with each chicken piece. Mix and really squeeze the flour into chicken so that it forms a bumpy coating. Set prepared chicken pieces onto the lined tray to let flour soak in.
4. Fill a wok to about 1/3 capacity with canola oil. Heat over high heat. Once the oil is hot (170°C), add the chicken pieces in small lots and cook for 6-10 minutes (depending on size and if direct from fridge) until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Step Two: Make Your Blue Cheese Sauce

Nothing beats a sauce made from scratch – especially one that’s warm, creamy, and packed with the sharp kick of blue cheese. But if you’re short on time (or blue cheese isn’t your thing), swap it out for grated cheddar, crumbled feta, or even a spoonful of aioli. The key is keeping it rich but pourable so it drapes over the chicken rather than sitting flat.

Method

1. In a saucepan, melt butter until bubbling. Add flour and whisk to form a paste.
2. Slowly add milk, whisking after each pour. Stir for another minute for so to thicken.
3. Add blue cheese, mix to break up and melt through. Set aside to cool slightly.

When it’s time to build, layer up a toasted Volare Butter Bun with crisp lettuce, fried chicken, a generous spoonful of sauce, and a few crunchy pickles. Top with the bun lid and serve straight away – hot, messy, and impossible to beat.

Shop the entire Volare Burger Range here – available for home delivery or store pick-up.