Chesapeake Shrimp Burger
Chesapeake Shrimp Burger- A seafood burger made with succulent shrimp and lots of Old Bay served on a toasted brioche bun with a lemony aioli.
April 11, 2022 by Nicole Collins
So, many of you know that I gave up meat for Lent.
Well, land animal meat. I’ve been on a pescatarian diet which still allows for seafood, eggs, and dairy.
Let me tell you, I’m loving it!
I tried to give up meat for Lent a couple years ago, and I failed miserably. I kept finding myself cheating and then saying that I’d make it up by adding days on after Easter. It was more like I was bargaining my sentence or something.
I think there were a couple things that went wrong the last time. 1. It was a last minute decision, so I don’t think I was totally bought in. And 2. I hadn’t really explored the world of plant based proteins yet.
But this time around, I’m actually considering keeping this diet for the long haul.
There was a moment the other night (the first time in this 6 week journey) that I was craving rotisserie chicken and Chick-Fil-A. But, the craving passed quickly, and that was that.
It’s recipes like the one we’re making today that absolutely sway me onto team “permanent pescatarian”.
So today, we’re making a Chesapeake Shrimp Burger!
If you’ve been following along for a while, you know I LOVE a good shrimp burger. We’re making today’s a tad differently than usual. But, we’re still loading it up with all the Old Bay, stuffing it in a fluffy brioche bun, and schmearing it with a refreshing lemon aioli.
Yes, it’s as incredibly delicious as it sounds. So, let’s get to it!
Let’s start with the heart and soul of this burger…the shrimp. We’re going to start with raw, peeled shrimp. Typically, I’d put all the shrimp in a food processor and grind it up. But for this burger, we’re going to leave a little texture in the burger. So, we’re going to process half of the shrimp in a food processor with some Old Bay, celery, shallot, and fresh parsley; and we’ll quickly pulse it until it resembles ground meat. Then, we’re going to rough chop the remaining shrimp, stir that into the ground shrimp with some panko, and form the mixture into burger sized patties. Now, I’m not going to lie to you. Ground shrimp is not the most pleasant thing you’ll ever work with. It’s sticky and grey and awkward. But I promise you, it will all be worth it in the end.
We’re going to let the burgers rest in the fridge for a little bit which will help keep them together while they cook. Then, we’ll pan fry them in a little oil until they’re golden and crisp on the outside while being perfectly juicy and pink on the inside.
While the burgers are resting, we can make our lemon bay-oli. We just need a little lemon juice, some lemon zest, a little Old Bay, a pinch of garlic powder, and some mayo. That’s it! Mix it all together…BAM…aioli! It truly could not be any easier. And you can even make this aioli in advance, pop it in the fridge, and give the flavors even more time to hang out and meld together.
And, that’s all the prep that’s required for this burger! We’re going to toast our brioche buns, give them a healthy schmear of that delicious aioli, throw on some lettuce to say we got our veggies, and load on that perfectly cooked burger patty. It truly couldn’t be any easier to have a unique and incredible seafood burger on your plate!
The inspiration for the flavor of this burger was a classic shrimp salad. And, I think we nailed it. The burger is perfectly savory, but you still get those naturally sweet notes from the shrimp. And, it really is a nice textural component to have some ground and some chunks of shrimp in each bite. It’s a little unexpected but gives you a great mouthfeel. Then, you have the slightly tangy lemony aioli dripping over the warm burger. You have cool, crisp lettuce doing its very best job as a supporting actor. And, that lightly toasted buttery brioche bun just seals the deal and brings it all home.
I cannot wait to hear what you think of this one. I’m sitting here drooling as I’m thinking about this burger, so you know that means it’s a definite winner.
I hope you guys love it, enjoy, and let’s eat!
Chesapeake Shrimp Burger
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
For the Lemon Bay-oli:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp lemon zest
¼ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp Old Bay
For the Shrimp Burger
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (thawed if frozen)
3 tbsp celery, minced
1 tbsp shallot, minced
1 tbsp parsley, minced
¾ tsp Old Bay
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp canola oil
4 brioche buns, lightly toasted
lettuce, for serving
Directions:
Make the Lemon Bay-oli: In a small bowl, mix mayo, lemon juice, lemon zest, 1/8 tsp Old Bay, and garlic powder. Stir well until combined. Set aside in the fridge.
Make the Shrimp Burgers: Add ½ of the shrimp, celery, shallots, parsley, salt, and ¾ tsp Old Bay to a food processor. Pulse 2-3 times in short pulses until shrimp is finely chopped (similar texture to a wet ground meat). Transfer to a mixing bowl. Take remaining shrimp, and chop into small pieces with a knife. Add chopped shrimp to the mixing bowl. Add panko, and gently mix with your hands until fully combined. Form in to 4 patties that are roughly the size of your buns. Place patties on a parchment paper lined plate, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 mins.
Remove patties from fridge. Heat canola oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add shrimp patties. Cook 4-5 minutes per side until the outside is lightly golden, shrimp are cooked all the way through, and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain off any excess oil.
Assemble the sandwiches: Place shrimp burger, a big schmear of aioli, and desired amount of lettuce between each toasted bun. Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
*You don't have to eat all of the sammies at once. The shrimp burgers can be stored in a container in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheated briefly in the microwave. Just assemble the sammies when you're ready to eat.
*The ground shrimp is a little strange and definitely sticky and gooey. Grinding the shrimp will happen very quickly, so stick to no more than 3 short pulses. Grinding half and chopping half of the shrimp helps to add a little texture to the burgers. But, feel free to grind all of the shrimp in the food processor if you prefer.
*To toast your brioche buns, place the buns cut side down in a dry non stick skillet over medium high heat. They only take a minute or two to toast and will be perfectly golden.
