Bubba Blue Be Proud: Southern Shrimp Burgers

I'm not sure if I said it any time before this, but I'll say it again and again and again:  I love shrimp.  I will eat it cooked in any fashion, too:  boiled, broiled, grilled, sautéed, baked, stuffed - as long as it's is cooked, I'll eat it (not sure if raw shrimp, even for sushi, is OK).  One of  my favorite cooking magazines, Cooks Illustrated, came out with a Summer Grilling issue last year and I've found more than a handful of successful and delicious recipes in it, some of which made it onto my blog already.  One of those recipes was for Southern Shrimp Burgers.  Funny enough, I had never eaten a shrimp burger.  I've had tuna burgers, salmon burgers and crab cakes (which are kind of like burgers, right?), but never a burger made of shrimp.  The headline in the magazine stated "In most versions of this coastal classic, the shrimp flavor is all but buried beneath excessive amounts of binding and spices.  We wanted shrimp burgers that tasted like shrimp."  They certainly succeeded.

Making the shrimp burgers was similar to making any other kind of burger, although there is a little bit of binding, since shrimp tends to be wetter than most other proteins.  What's great is that the only binding is a slice of sandwich bread (I think we used sourdough, since that's what our home considers "sandwich bread").  The rest of the mixture includes fresh herbs, mild spices, mayo and shrimp:  the perfect combination of flavors to enhance and showcase the sweetness of the shrimp meat.  They held surprisingly well on the grill, which is where we cooked them.  You can easily cook these in a pan on the stove, if you're interested in having a summery light meal in the dead of winter.  The burgers were tender and juicy, sweet and delicious.  I would definitely make these again.

I served the shrimp burgers without buns.  I would think buns, or any kind of bread-like product, would totally ruin the freshness of the burger and weight the meal down.  They were perfect fork-and-knife burgers, although you didn't need a knife at all to cut through the burger.  I made a home-made tartar sauce for dipping.  A simple mixture of mayo, capers, and fresh chopped dill.  You can certainly buy tartar sauce from the store, but when it's this easy to make, why would you?  The picture in the magazine showed the burger alongside some fresh greens.  I remember making a Tuna Steak au Poivre a long time ago that had a bitter greens salad on the side, which was great.  I figured that kind of super light salad would be perfect and it was.

I hope you give these burgers a shot.  I highly recommend using fresh, unfrozen, shrimp if at all possible.  They really aren't expensive, comparatively speaking, and you get a MUCH better flavor.  Also, again if possible, buy as local as possible.  Unfortunately, for Californians, local shrimp comes from the Gulf of Mexico, which is definitely more local than Thailand or Vietnam.  Like with all fish, wild-caught is infinitely better, both in taste and nutritional value, than farmed (shrimp aren't supposed to eat corn).  I know that when I first started preparing raw fresh shrimp myself, the deveining was the most worrisome.  It is so easy, I can't even tell you:  take scissors (kitchen shears and desk scissors work equally well) and snip the shell along the back of the shrimp (not the side with the legs) stopping right before the tail (if you want a handle) or all the way through the tail (if you just want the meat).  The snipping allows you to peel the shell easily from the shrimp meat and will cut just enough of the flesh to expose the vein.  Under running cold water, clean out the groove you made with the scissors and you're done!  Your shrimp are now ready to cook and enjoy!

Southern Shrimp Burgers
Serves 4 (as a main dish)

1 Slice High-Quality Sandwich Bread, torn into large pieces
1-1/2 pounds Extra-Large (21 to 25 per pound) Shrimp, peeled, deveined, and patted dry (the drier the shrimp the better to keep the burgers too watery)
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Scallions, minced
2 Tablespoons Italian Parsley, minced
2 teaspoons Lemon Zest, grated
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/8 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Vegetable Oil for Grill Grate (or Pan)

1.  Process bread in a food processor to even, fine crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses.  Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
2.  Pulse shrimp in a food processor (or chop by hand) until some pieces are finely minced and other are coarsely chopped, about 7 pulses.  Transfer shrimp to a large bowl.
3.  Combine mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, lemon zest, cayenne, salt and pepper in a large bowl until uniform, then gently fold into the processed shrimp until just combined (do not over mix or the burgers will be tough).  Sprinkle breadcrumbs over mixture and gently fold until incorporated.  Loosely pack shrimp mixture into four 1-inch-thick patties.  Cover and refrigerate patties for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours.

For using a charcoal grill:
Light large chimney starter filled three-quarters with charcoal briquettes and burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with a thin layer of gray ash, about 15-20 minutes.  Build a single-level fire by spreading coals evenly over grill.  Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes.  Scrape grate clean with grill brush.

For using a gas grill:
Turn all burners to high and heat grill with lid down until hot, about 15 minutes.  Scrape grate clean with a grill brush.  Turn all burners to medium-high.

4.  Lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.  Lightly brush tops of burgers with oil, place on grill, oiled side down, and lightly brush tops with more oil.  Cook without pressing until lightly browned, 10-14 minutes, flipping halfway through (if you're using a gas grill, make sure to keep the cover on while cooking the burgers).
Credit:  Cooks Illustrated, Summer Grilling, p. 57.


Bitter Greens Salad
Serves 4

1 Head Escarole, cleaned and shredded
1 Head Radicchi, medium-sized, shredded
1 Lemon, juiced
Extra-virgin Olive Oil, to coat
Course Salt (I used Maldon, a French sea salt)

Combine escarole and radicchio in a shallow dish or salad bowl.  Coat greens with lemon juice, then a drizzle of olive oil.  Season salad with salt and toss well.
Credit:  Rachael Ray, http://bit.ly/ed9hlp.  

Tartar Sauce

A Few Spoonfuls Mayonnaise
1/4 of a Bunch Fresh Dill, chopped
Handful of Capers, drained and roughly chopped
Pinch of Salt, if needed

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.