Shrimp Burgers

I was watching the Food Network channel when I was at the gym on Saturday and saw Aaron McCargo Jr. from Big Daddy's House making his Surf & Turf burgers.  I had to try them and they were delicious however I did alter the recipe just a little bit. Hope you enjoy them!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Burgers:

• 1 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/4 cups panko
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoons hot sauce (of course I used Texas Pete)
• 1 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped, seeds optional (or I used a red chili pepper from my friend's garden)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• olive oil, to moisten
• canola or vegetable oil, for frying (I used a blend)
• Romaine lettuce leaves (large leaves to wrap the burger)
• Tomatoes, sliced

Lemon Butter:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested

For the burgers: 

1. Divide the shrimp in half. Coarsely chop one half and set aside. Place the remaining shrimp into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 5 times or until smooth.   

2. In a large bowl, mix together the panko, eggs, hot sauce, garlic, seafood seasoning, and black pepper. Mix in the pureed shrimp, parsley, chives, jalapenos, and green onions. Add the coarsely chopped shrimp and stir to combine. To moisten the mix a bit more, add some olive oil. 

3. Form the mixture into 4 patties and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill for 20 minutes in the freezer or 2 hours in the fridge.
4. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the canola or vegetable oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, fry 4 burgers at a time, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and blot with paper towel.


For the lemon butter:
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the butter, lemon juice and zest (I like to peel the lemon zest in two large pieces). Cook until melted, about 2 minutes.

To build the burgers, brush the top of the shrimp burgers with a good amount of the lemon butter and lay the patty on the lettuce leaf. Top with tomatoes and serve immediately.