Chorizo Cheeseburgers w Air Fried Pickles

About

Just 6 ingredients are all you need to make a delicious meal that you or the kids will like! Instead of ground beef burgers, you’ll be making cheeseburgers out of mild or spicy chorizo of your choosing. The burgers come out crisp on the outside with perfectly tender, juicy bites right in the center. Pepper jack cheese is the perfect cheese for these burgers to melt on top! On the side are crunchy fried pickle chips. Make the pickle chips in your air fryer so you can cut out the unhealthy frying oils and the mess! You are free to choose your favorite brand and flavor of pickle chips. Just make sure the pickles aren’t made with high-sugar flavorings to stay Keto. You can even make these fried pickle chips with any homemade pickles you may have.

Making Fried Pickles Without An Air Fryer

If you don’t own an air fryer, you can still make the fried pickle chips in your oven. Increase the heat of your oven to 400 degrees, and bake your prepared pickles on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Bake the pickle chips for 15 minutes or longer. You may need to flip the pickle chips halfway through your baking so the pork rinds don’t become soggy on one side.

Is This Recipe Good For Meal Prepping?

Yes, you can keep this recipe in your refrigerator to eat throughout the week for meal prepping. Keep each finished chorizo cheeseburger stored in a meal prep container with fried pickles for up to 5 days. You can microwave the entire meal prep container to reheat for eating. If you are including fresh toppings on your cheeseburger, like lettuce or tomatoes, keep those ingredients separate until you’re eating.

Ingredients

4 oz dill pickle chips
½ oz fried pork skins
4 oz brown mushrooms (italian or crimini mushrooms), raw, high in vitamin d
6 oz chorizo ground sausage
1 teaspoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
2 slice (from pre-sliced package) – each 3/4 ounce pepper jack cheese

Instructions

Make the fried pickles first by laying all the pickle chips down in a single layer on a paper towel. Lay multiple layers of paper towels over the pickle chips and weigh them down with a heavy plate or something similar. Let the paper towels absorb the excess liquid out of the pickle chips for about 15 minutes. You want the pickles chips to still have a little juice to them when you bite into them, so don’t completely dry the pickles out.
In a food processor, blend pork rinds until they break down into a crumbly breading. Press both sides of all the pickles chips in the ground pork rinds so they have a thin layer of breading. Shake any excess pork rinds off, and arrange the breaded pickle chips on your air fryer tray. Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees, then cook the pickle chips for 10 minutes or longer until the pickle chips are fried.
While the pickle chips are in the air fryer, you can get the chorizo burgers started. Prepare cremini mushrooms by mincing them as finely as you can. The finer you can mince the mushrooms, the better it will be for your burgers later. Combine the minced mushrooms in a large mixing bowl with raw, ground chorizo. Use your hands to blend the ingredients together, and you can add any additional spices at your discretion.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Portion the chorizo burger mixture and roll the portions into balls, packing the meat tightly with your hands. When the pan is hot, press the burgers down in the pan until they spread into thick patties. Let the burgers cook undisturbed on one side until they get a good char – you want the burgers well done. Place a lid over your pan to trap the heat and stop any grease from splattering.
Flip the burgers over with a spatula and reduce the heat slightly on your stove. Place a slice of pepper jack cheese over each burger, and let the burgers finish cooking. The melted cheese will also help ensure the burger stays together when it’s done. Serve each chorizo cheeseburger with 6-7 fried pickle chips, and include any Keto burger toppings at your discretion.