Shrimp Burgers
New Partner For A Bun
By Mark Bittman
You can make a burger out of anything, as most home cooks know; the
challenge is in choosing a central element that delivers superior
flavor and texture. Thus one can argue that a burger of half-pork and
half-beef is tops in the meat world, better than the standard
all-beef version because of its enhanced taste and "chew." In the
fish world, nothing is better than a shrimp burger.
Shrimp, like scallops, contain a high amount of natural gelatin,
which allows you to incorporate a considerable amount of flavorings
without worrying about the burger falling apart.
In fact, if you purée all the shrimp, you end up with a dense,
rubbery sponge not unlike the dense Thai fish cakes known as tod mun.
But if you purée just a portion of them, leaving the rest - along
with the flavorings - just roughly chopped, you produce a
good-textured burger with powerful flavor (and, I might add, very
little fat).
I choose to go an Asian route here, with ginger, chili (many people
will want to use more than I suggest, some will want less), and
cilantro, adding a little bell pepper for color. But as with any
burgers, these can be seasoned pretty much according to your whim.
Try a small amount of an herb like tarragon or chervil and omit the
chili and ginger and you will have a different, more subtle result.
Chili or curry powders or curry paste are other good additions.
Though good grilled, these are also excellent cooked in a pan,
whether in clarified butter or peanut or olive oil. In either case,
they are best served with typical burger trimmings, especially a
couple of slices of a good tomato.
Shrimp Burgers
==============
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1 dried or fresh chili, stemmed, seeded and deveined,
or more to taste
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds peeled shrimp, deveined if you like
1/4 cup roughly chopped shallots, scallions or red onion
1/4 cup roughly chopped red or yellow bell pepper, optional
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, or to taste
Neutral oil, like corn or canola, as needed
Toasted buns, optional
Lime wedges or ketchup for serving
1. Start a charcoal or gas grill; fire should be moderately hot and
rack about 4 inches from heat source.
2. Combine garlic, chili, ginger and 1/3 of the shrimp in a food
processor and purée, stopping machine to scrape down sides of
container as necessary. Add remaining shrimp along with shallots,
bell pepper, salt, pepper and cilantro, and pulse as many times
as necessary to chop shrimp, but not too finely. Shape mixture
into 4 patties.
3. Brush grill or patties lightly with oil and place them on grill.
Cook undisturbed until a dark crust appears on bottom and they
release fairly easily with a spatula, about 5 minutes. Turn and
cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes on the other side. Serve on buns
or not, as you like, with ketchup or lime juice as a condiment.
~To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.
-Sugar
--
Access the Recipes And More list archives at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/
Visit the group home page at:
http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore
