When you're pescatarian and not fond of most meat alternatives, sometimes you have to think out of the box. As a fan of crab cakes — and someone who didn’t eat animals that once frolicked on land for more than a year — I decided to create my own burger recipe from delicious, dense patties of crab meat just in time for Tampa Bay Burger Week.
The result is a flavorful pescatarian substitute for a classic American favorite. Pair this crab burger with house-made aioli, shiitake mushrooms sautéed in red wine and some seaweed and you’re good to go.
Spicy Crab Burgers
Serves 4; 50-70 minutes start to finish
Ingredients
12 ounces lump crab meat
2 slices bread
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
2 medium jalapeño peppers, minced
1 tablespoon cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
1 large egg
1 large shallot, minced
2 tablespoons mayo or Greek yogurt
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper
3-4 tablespoons canola oil
Burger buns
Directions
First things first, you want to prep some of the ingredients. Tear the bread by hand or throw it in the food processor; either way, it needs to be in small pieces. Mince the shallot and the jalapeños. Make sure to remove the seeds and ribs of the pepper if you want less heat. Finely chop your herb of choice.
Once your those ingredients have been prepped, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and, in a medium bowl, mix the crab and bread. In another bowl, combine the Dijon, Worcestershire, Old Bay, jalapeños, cilantro or parsley, egg, shallot, mayo or yogurt, and lemon zest.
Add the crab and bread to the bowl with some salt and pepper. (I like to combine the ingredients together by hand, so go all in to create your crab cake mixture.)
Form patties with your hands. You could make 4 jumbo burgers or 5 sliders; the size is entirely up to you. Place the patties on a tray with wax paper.
Turn your stovetop up to medium-high heat with the canola oil poured inside a skillet. Place a baking sheet with a rack inside the oven. Once the skillet is hot, brown and cook each patty for about 2 minutes on both sides. Then put the patties in the oven for 10 minutes.
The patties can remain in the oven for 30 minutes to keep warm, or you can serve them right away. Toss the patties onto your burger buns of choice — potato or sesame seed work well here — with your favorite condiments.
This article appears in Oct 13-20, 2016.