Recipe: The winning buffalo chicken burger that beat the competition

After three rounds of public voting, an Auckland burger maker has taken out the top spot in a nationwide burger design competition. 

East Aucklander Jared Bozas won the Best Foods Best Burger Showdown with his recipe: The Buffalo Bird BLT.

The delicious-looking burger will be available for us all to taste at Burger Wisconsin nationwide in January, and Bozas gets to take home a cool $5000 prize money. But if you think he's going to be spending it on burgers, think again. 

"My partner and I are expecting a new baby in two weeks, so we'll probably be spending it on nappies," Bozas told Newshub. 

Bozas says he was inspired by a "western showdown" and wanted to make the aioli the hero of the dish. The result is a multi-layered, zingy, strongly flavoured delight, with the fried chicken, bread and burger all doused in the garlic aioli. 

"With the theme, I knew I had to start with iconic American classics but keep it simple. Fried chicken is the hot trend at the moment, but I didn't want to make it too complicated. 

"Pairing it with the creamy, garlicky Best Foods Aioli ended up working in perfect harmony," he says.

It obviously appealed to the public, with the Buffalo Bird BLT winning 55 percent of the nearly 7,000 votes.

For those wanting to try it at home, the recipe is below. 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

• Best Foods Aioli
• Hot Buffalo Wing sauce
• 125g butter
• 4 wheat burger buns
• 4 free-range chicken thighs
• 10-12 rashers of streaky bacon
• 125g blue cheese
• 2 vine-ripened tomatoes
• Fresh garden lettuce
• Canola or vegetable oil

Marinade Ingredients

• 600g buttermilk
• 1 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Dredge Ingredients

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp garlic powder 
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Lay each chicken thigh between two pieces of greaseproof paper and use a rolling pin to thin them out.
2. To make the marinade, add buttermilk to a bowl, squeeze in desired amount of Best Foods Aioli, season with spices and buffalo sauce then mix with chicken thighs and cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
3. To make the dredge, mix the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper (tip: pour a little of the marinate to dredge to create clumpy bits for extra crunch).
4. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and dredge in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess bits, lay on rack.
5. Preheat oven to 180°c then cook bacon until crispy.
6. Fill a large pan 2/3 with oil and heat to 175°c or until a piece of bread browns in 40 seconds. 
7. Cook the chicken for 5-8 minutes turning halfway, until deep golden brown. 
8. While the chicken cooks, heat up a saucepan and add desired amount of Buffalo sauce then add a knob of butter and bring to a simmer while stirring with a whisk. Mix until it gets to a glossy consistency. Add cayenne for extra spice if you want extra heat.
9. Place bacon and fried chicken on a cooling rack or on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
10. Toss fried chicken in a bowl with buffalo sauce.

To assemble

1. Spread both buns with Best Foods Aioli then toast on a hot pan/griddle.
2. Slather the bottom and top bun generously with Best Foods Aioli.
3. Layer lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, fried chicken and bacon.
4. Crumble over blue cheese.
5. Admire your glorious creation, saddle up then devour!