Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Shrimp Burgers


Burgers are definitely synonymous with summer, and it appears as though I've made it my mission to try as many variations as possible before fall.  Most have been grilled, and most have been beef, turkey, or chicken.  But I've been wanting to make a seafood variation for years now.  I've actually had this recipe bookmarked since I first bought The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook.  According to Matt and Ted (yes, we're on a first name basis), shrimp burgers are popular in - you guessed it - shrimping towns on the coast.  I'm sure Bubba from Forrest Gump would agree - when you live in a shrimping town, you have to get creative and find new ways to prep and eat shrimp!

These burgers are inspired by Hominy Grill, a popular restaurant in Charleston, SC. If you watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay, you may have heard of it - he challenged the chef to a coconut cake throwdown.  Anyway, this is basically a crabcake on a bun.  But made with shrimp.  And with the addition of fresh corn, ginger, lemon zest, and hot sauce.  I had a little trouble keeping the burgers together when I flipped them, and then they were pretty messy to eat, but I think it's from chopping the shrimp coarsley.  I think if they were chopped finer, or even pulsed in a food processor, they would hold together better.  You may also have better luck if you chill them for several hours vs 30 minutes, as the recipe indicates.  In any case, I just turned this into a fork-and-knife burger.  And the messiness definitely didn't deter us from enjoying them - they were bright and fresh from the herbs, ginger, and lemon, with a nice kick from the hot sauce. 

I served these on toasted buns with lettuce, tomato, and homemade tartar sauce.  On the side, we had toasted okra and watermelon - this was such a great summer meal, and I'm going to have trouble trying more seafood burger variations now that I love this one so much.

And if you love burgers as much as we do, check out my Featured Recipes Page - I've updated it with some of our favorites!



Shrimp Burgers
adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
serves 4
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 recipe shrimp boil (recipe follows)
  • 1 pound shrimp, shells on
  • 2 Tbs chopped fresh scallions
  • 1/3 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob
  • 2 Tbs chopped parsley
  • 1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbs mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbs Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs, preferably fresh
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • hot sauce, to taste
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 Tbs canola oil
To serve
  • 4 hamburger buns, split
  • tomato
  • lettuce
  • tartar sauce (recipe follows)
  • fresh lemon wedges
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and shrimp boil to a boil over high heat.  Turn off the heat and add the shrimp.  Let stand until they are just pink, about 2 minutes.  Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.  Peel and devein the shrimp, and chop.  You should have 1 1/2 - 2 cups of chopped shrimp.

In a large bowl, mix the shrimp with scallions, corn, parsley, ginger, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Stir in the mayonnaise, yogurt, and bread crumbs, and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Add the egg and gently fold with a spatula until evenly distributed.

From the shrimp mixture into 4 patties, each about 3-4 inches in diameter.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to several hours.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat.  When it shimmers, add the burgers and cook until both sides are golden-brown, about 3 minutes per side.  Drain on a paper towel-lined dinner plate.

Toast the buns in the empty skillet until golden brown, and serve the burgers with a squeeze of lemon, lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce.


Shrimp Boil
  • 1 Tbs peppercorns
  • 1 Tbs celery seeds
  • 6 bay leaves, torn into pieces
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 3 Tbs ground cayenne pepper.
Combine the peppercorns, celery seeds, bay leaves, and salt in the bowl of a food processor or chopper, and pulse several times to grind the peppercorns and combine the spices.  Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the cayenne.


Tartar Sauce
  • 1/2 cup drained relish (chowchow, artichoke, okra, pickle, etc)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • hot sauce, to taste
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well.  Taste and add additional hot sauce, salt, or pepper to taste.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.


13 comments:

Unknown said...

These sound so perfectly "summery"! I love all the flavors - it will be fun to try these! Thanks, Chris

Nicole, RD said...

These look amazing! Thanks for another great recipe to try!

Pam @ From Apples To Zucchini said...

I have just recently lost my love for shrimp because I suddenly don't like the texture - I bet I'd love these because of the texture change, since I still love the flavor. I am so going to be trying these!

Jessy said...

I make a Mexican Shrimp Burger that I adore. Looks like I need to add this one to my list to try!

Valentina said...

I am the biggest shrimp lover ever! This looks like an amazing addition to my list of favorites. Great job! :)

katie said...

These look absolutely amazing. Perfect for summer. Your tartar sauce recipe is genius, I love the idea of adding yogurt.

Allison @ Bake Like Martha said...

These look awesome! For some reason I never thought of putting shrimp into patty form lol. This looks like it would be soooooo good cooked on the barbecue, and I agree about the tartar sauce recipe being a work of genius.

May - So Very Domestic said...

I like the idea of making as many different kinds of burgers as you can this summer. I may just jump on that bandwagon with this one - and finish off the meal with the semifreddo!

The Garlic Press said...

This looks delicious. I can't wait to try it!

Pam said...

Wow! These sounds unreal. My favorite food is shrimp, and I have never heard of a shrimp burger. But this sounds like a great recipe, combining everything just perfectly for a summer delight. Thanks.

Katie M said...

I just made these for dinner tonight and they were so yummy! They kind of fell apart on me though...I must have done something wrong...And the tartar sauce is awesome! Love the addition of the Greek yogurt. I used sirachi as my hot sauce in both :)

Annie said...

Shrimp burgers sound so good to me, but I tried one last summer that was just kind of "eh". I think this version will be much better. I really need to buy this cookbook, it's been on my want list for so long!

Ammie said...

Made these for dinner tonight and they are delicious! This will be my new go to tartar sauce!

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