Chicken Fillets & Burgers

A chicken fillet here means a whole breast or thigh piece, marinated and coated in a seasoned crumb or batter, often with plenty of chilli in it, in the style of the high street chicken shop. A chicken burger is a formed patty of minced or chopped chicken, usually coated and shaped to fit a bun. Spice levels and coatings vary from mild to properly hot, and the pack also shows whether a product is halal certified.

Build a burger with a toasted bun, shredded lettuce, sliced onion and a spoon of mayonnaise mixed with chilli paste. Slice a cooked fillet into strips for a wrap with salad and chutney, or serve it with rice, lime pickle and a chopped salad for a quick dinner. For smaller pieces, see nuggets and bites, and for something grilled, seekh kebabs.

Fillets are thick, so cook them from frozen at a steady heat and allow the full time on the pack. An oven or air fryer gives a crisp coating with little oil, and shallow frying should be done over a medium flame, turning often, so the outside does not burn before the centre is done. Check the thickest part is piping hot with no pink meat. Keep them at -18°C, and once a fillet has defrosted, cook it that day and do not refreeze it. Find all the chicken under frozen chicken and kebabs.