Grilled Chicken Burgers with Copycat Shake Shack Sauce

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Happy August!! Now that we've officially hit the second half of summer, maybe those traditional burger and dog barbecues are starting to feel a little ho-hum. If so, then you've got to give these easy Grilled Chicken Burgers a try. Weeknights, parties--whenever--these are anything but ordinary and will make your tastebuds stand up and sing!

Let's talk about all the stuff that is in these babies. First off, thinly sliced cutlets simply sprinkled with salt and ppper and brushed with a bit of olive oil are grilled to perfection along with slices of fresh grilled zucchini. And all of this takes just minutes to prepare.

Juicy slices of tomato, crisp lettuce and sweet red onion also get piled on top. Sounds good, no?

But now let's get to what makes these extra super-duper special:  that Shake Shack burger sauce!! Partly sweet, partly savory, totally addictive! And easy to make too! Mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickles and some spices get whizzed together in a blender in just a few seconds. It's so creamy and tangy and completes the burger in a way that just ketchup or mustard can't. I can't recommend it highly enough!!

I'm writing this post fairly early in the morning but boy could I go for one of these burgers right now!! Guess what's on the menu for tonight!! 

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Grilled Chicken Burgers with Copycat Shake Shack Sauce

Makes 4 servings

Prep Time:  under 30 minutes  

Ingredients

For the burgers

• 2 large zucchini, cut on the diagonal into ¼ inch slices
• About 1 ½ pounds thin-slice chicken cutlets ( if you can't find thin ones, cut thicker ones lengthwise or pound them into thin cutlets) 
• Olive oil for brushing on chicken and zucchini  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Thin slices of red onion  
• Lettuce
• Sliced tomatoes
• 4 hamburger rolls

For the sauce

• ½ cup mayonnaise  
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 4 slices of kosher dill pickle
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika  
• Pinch of cayenne pepper

The Recipe

1.  Brush zucchini and chicken on both sides with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat the grill to medium-high and grill until chicken is cooked thru, 2-3 minutes per side and until the zucchini is tender with nice grill marks. Remove from grill. If you like your buns toasted, place on the grill for a minute or two. While chicken rests for a moment make the sauce.

2.  Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a blender and mix until smooth. This can also be done several days ahead and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. 

3.  To assemble the burgers, spread some of the sauce on the bottom of one half of the bun. Top with a cutlet, a few pieces of zucchini, lettuce, tomato and onion. Spread more sauce on the top half of the bun and place on top of the assembled burger. Serve with more sauce on the side.

Enjoy! 

Note:  Recipe for Copycat Shake Shack Sauce from Serious Eats.