Two & A Knife

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Shrimp is something that I indulge in often but sometimes I have to remind myself to do something different. Fried shrimp used to be my go-to but I find myself really limiting my fried food intake to maybe once a week. I find that the healthier I eat the more the desire for bad food really just goes away. Shrimp burgers are incredibly underrated in my opinion of course they are never gonna replace a juicy beef burger but hey sometimes you gotta switch it up.

The key to a killer shrimp burger is leaving out the fillers so no breadcrumbs, no eggs, no fluff. Straight shrimp, shrimp paste, and spices.

Shrimp paste? Yes shrimp paste, what is that? Its not some weird obscure ingredient you have to seek out. its literally where you take a portion of your shrimp and blend it in your food processor and that will act as your binder for the burgers. Amazing right? Also super easy.

So while I was making this recipe it kind of gave me a run for my money. I hit a few road blocks but the good news is I made them for you so you don’t have to! You’re welcome in advanced. While I was making the mixture for the patties I don’t have a clue why I thought it was a good idea to try and run everything together. Luckily I quickly learned from my mistake stopped the food processor and dumped the contents into a big bowl hoping to salvage the shrimp without being over blended I was concerned that I also made the bell pepper too big so I knew what had to be done.

Did you know blended shrimp gets INCREDIBLY sticky? Yeah me either. So there I am separating shrimp paste from shrimp chunk and shrimp chunk from veggies all into separate containers so I can start this over and redeem myself. All I could think was I’ve learned from mistake and it’ll never happen again. So the moral of this story is do this recipe in stages and fold it together in a bowl later. Save yourself the 30 minutes I wasted. But hey it’s cooking it’s trial and error. The good news is the burger was awesome and I definitely will be making it again.

Ingredients

• 2lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 medium shallot
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp red bell pepper flakes
• 1tsp salt
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2tsp gumbo file
• 1/2tsp blackened seasoning
• spring mix lettuce
• tomatoes
• red onions
• buns
• Lemon mayo
• 1/2c Kewpie Japanese mayo
• 1/2 large lemon, juiced
• 1tsp olive bay
• 1tsp garlic

Directions

• In a food processor take 8-10 shrimp and blend till smooth till a paste forms for about 30 seconds. You may need to scrape down the sides.
• Scrape paste into bowl and set to the side.
• Add in vegetables and pulse till they are in bite size pieces. Scrape into bowl with paste.
• Add in shrimp to food processor. Pulse a couple times for a medium dice. Make the chop bigger than the vegetables
• Add in shrimp. Season with red bell pepper flakes, tsp salt, gumbo file, blackened seasoning. Fold till everything is incorporated.
• Chill in the fridge till you make Lemon mayo.
• To make lemon mayo combine all ingredient and stir.
• Heat a cast iron To medium high heat.
• Form into 1 inch patties (I use a mold ring). If you don’t have rings Form by hand and press in parchment to make sure both sides are flat.
• Toast buns on unoiled cast iron till golden.
• Add enough oil to coat bottom of pan. Season patties with salt and pepper. Sear for 4 minutes on each side.
• Coat buns with mayo, add patty, layer with veggies, and enjoy!