Spiced Burgers with Grated Apple Chadwick Boyd Lifestyle.jpg — Spiced Burgers with Grated Apple

**By Chadwick Boyd**
Photo by Brooke Slezak

There’s a sweet way to switch up burgers this summer…and it’s one ingredient: a Cosmic Crisp apple!

As summertime approaches, it seems we are always looking for new ways to switch up burgers for the grill to make them feel new and exciting.

This year, I have an answer for you…and it involves my favorite new apple, the Cosmic Crisp. I am a big fan of a “choose your own adventure” approach to core recipes, like burgers. So, to start pick your protein of choice: ground beef, turkey, chicken, lamb…even shrimp, then mix in freshly grated Cosmic Crisp apple. The sweet-tart taste of the apple adds a surprising new level of flavor in every burger bite. I have added a depth of spice to these burgers, too, which add more dimension to them, similar to flavoring in sausage. While I love a good quality, summer ripe slice of tomato and really crisp lettuce leaf on my burgers, I discovered that very thin slices of apple are wonderfully delicious added on, too. Have some fun with your burgers, y’all. Don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on instagram @chadwickboyd when you make these.

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Chadwick’s Checklist

What you need to know before you cook.

Grab a box grater to grate the apple
Place the burgers on a small sheet pan once you form them; it makes transferring to the grill much easier
I like to use a mandolin to slice the apple for the topping. A sharp chef's knife will do, too.
You can make the patties the day before and store covered in the refrigerator. Take them out 30 minutes and bring to room temperature before grilling.

Serving Size: 4 Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

2 Cosmic Crisp® apples, peeled and cored
2 pounds ground pork, ground turkey or ground beef…or other protein of choice
1 tablespoon melted butter
2½ teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Grate the Cosmic Crisp apples on the large holes of a box grater onto a plate. Press 2-3 paper towels onto the apple to remove excess moisture. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Add the meat of your choice and the butter. Mix well.
Add the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Mix until fully combined.
Form into half-pound patties.
Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill the burgers 4-5 minutes each side, until the center is no longer pink.