This Recipe Is for Advanced Burger-Makers Only

It starts with about a pound of Key West shrimp

June 16, 2023 7:00 am
shrimp burger
These shrimp burgers are shrimp-ly the best.
Antonio Bachour/Tablé by Bachour

If you’re looking for a burger that takes full advantage of Miami’s local seafood, chef Antonio Bachour of Tablé by Bachour has got just the thing. His shrimp burgers rely on Key West shrimp — jazzed up with myriad international influences — for a patty as flavorful as it is representative of Magic City.

To make the burger, you’ll begin by making a shrimp mousseline…which isn’t nearly as fancy as it sounds. All you need to do is load up your food processor with local shrimp, Korean gochujang, Southeast Asian fish sauce and smoky paprika, blitzing until smooth.

“The fish sauce and the kimchee base (gochujang) bring a depth of flavor and spice to round out the flavors and vibrance of the completed dish,” explains Bachour.

To keep the patty together, Chef Bachour relies on Activa RM transglutaminase, a mouthful of a name for something the chef says is basically “a protein glue.”

“It’s used as a binder to hold the patty together,” he says, noting that one could easily substitute egg whites — about two per pound of shrimp — with similar results.

Once the mousseline base is ready, even more chopped shrimp are folded in for a mixture with just the right amount of texture and bite. The resulting patties are coated in Japanese panko and cooked on the plancha until nice and golden brown before being finished in the oven. All that’s left to do is griddle the buns, spread them with Espelette pepper-spiked mayo, add lettuce and tomato and dig in.

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Shrimp Burger

Ingredients

Shrimp Burger

  • 600 grams (1⅓ pounds) Key West pink shrimp, divided
  • 2 tspn. gochujang
  • 4 tspn. fish sauce
  • 1 tspn. smoked paprika
  • 1 pinch Activa RM Transglutaminase or 2 egg whites
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • Butter lettuce
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 4 burger buns

Mayonnaise

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1½ tablespoons Espelette pepper
  • 1 tspn lemon juice
  • 1 tspn. chopped chives

Directions

  1. Set the bowl and blade of the food processor in the freezer for a few minutes, and chill all of the ingredients until ready to use.
  2. Place half of the shrimp in the food processor, and blend until smooth. Add the gochujang, fish sauce and smoked paprika, and mix until well combined. Set the mix in a bowl over ice.
  3. Cut the remaining shrimp into five or six pieces each, and dust lightly with Activa RM transglutaminase. Fold the shrimp into the shrimp mousseline. Using five-inch molds, shape the mousseline into patties. Set on a baking paper-lined sheet tray, and chill until ready to use.
  4. Make the mayonnaise by whisking together the mayo, garlic, chile, lemon juice and chives. Set aside.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350º F and preheat the plancha. Toss the patty in panko. Grease the plancha with olive oil, and sear the patties until brown on both sides. Transfer to a baking sheet, and bake until cooked through, about four minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, toast the buns on the plancha. Set each patty on a bottom bun and top with lettuce and tomato. Spread the top bun with mayonnaise, close and serve.

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