Shrimp Po' Boy Burger with Old Bay Remoulade

November 3, 2019 by Nicole Collins

It's National Sandwich Day!

And boy have I got a sandwich for you! There are a few fleeting moments when I have real strokes of genius, and today’s recipe is exactly one such occasion.

I told you guys that I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and today’s recipe is totally inspired by this book series that I’ve been reading that's set in the bayou of Louisiana. The series is called Boys of the Bayou by Erin Nicholas, and I am just so in love with these books. I devoured each of the 4 books in, like, a day. And, I’m basically ready to pack up and move to the bayou.

One of the main themes of the series is the amount of family time spent at Ellie's bar, which is also where basically everyone in town goes for every meal. So, of course reading, about crawfish and gumbo and every other possible Cajun style dish you could think of for 4 whole books, how could I not totally want to make some of that for myself here at home.

I even had to hop on Amazon to order some pralines because of how much they talked about them in book 4!

So today, we're bringing the Cajun to our kitchen (with a Maryland style twist, of course).

Today, we're making Shrimp Po' Boy Burgers with Old Bay Remoulade!

These shrimp burgers basically changed my life. This is going up there as one of my favorite recipes, to date. And, it's way healthier than a traditional Po' boy thanks to the elimination of the deep frying.

We start with the foundation of most Louisiana cooking: the holy trinity. The holy trinity is a simple mix of onion, celery, and green bell pepper that we're going to chop up pretty finely to mix in with our shrimp. We're not going to cook these veggies first like you might think we should, but they'll be chopped up small enough that they'll soften in the shrimp burger while still adding a nice little bit of texture.

To the trinity of veggies, we add some raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp and some cajun seasoning. That's really all we need to flavor our burgers. Give the shrimp a few quick pulses in the food processor to grind up the shrimp without making it mush, and we're ready to mix in a little panko so we can form our patties. Take note that ground shrimp is not the most appetizing ingredient that you'll ever work with, but trust me; it's so worth it when the final result is a juicy, moist, healthy burger.

While our burgers set and get ready for a quick pan fry, we need to make our special sauce. Remoulade is a common Cajun condiment to find on Po' boys, and it's generally a mix of mayo, pickles, capers, and a tangy liquid like lemon juice or vinegar. But, I wouldn't be able to wear my Maryland flag leggings proudly if I didn't throw some Old Bay in there.

Because that's just what Marylanders do!

I almost didn't have any sauce left to put on the burger, because I kept “tasting” and tasting and tasting and tasting...just to make sure it was absolutely perfect. Salty, tangy, with lots of texture, this sauce is awesome paired with crab or shrimp! And, it makes more than you'll need for 4 sammies, so I actually have another recipe coming up where it can do double duty!

To finish our sandwich, we throw our perfectly golden burger on a toasted brioche bun, top it with LOTS of remoulade, and finish it with a little lettuce and tomato. And, OMG. What a delicious, heavenly bite! I was definitely glad I was alone when I tested these burgers, because there were some inappropriate noises leaving my mouth as I savored every last bite.

Some of the same noises i imagine the characters in by book were making...if you know what i mean. 😉 (Did I mention I mostly read smutty books?!?)

Alright, everyone! As promised, we're going to see this Old Bay Remoulade again on Thursday. So, stay tuned!

'Til then...let's eat!

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Shrimp Po' Boy Burger with Old Bay Remoulade

Serves: 4 Print

Ingredients:

For the Old Bay Remoulade:

• ½ cup mayo

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp Old Bay

• 1 tsp sweet relish

• 1 ½ tsp stone ground mustard

• 1 ½ tsp capers, chopped

• 1 green onion (green parts only), finely chopped

For the Shrimp Burger

• 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (thawed if frozen)

• 2 tbsp onion, minced

• 2 tbsp celery, minced

• 2 tbsp green bell pepper, minced

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp cajun seasoning

• ¾ cup panko

• 2 tbsp canola oil

For the Sandwich:

• 4 brioche buns, lightly toasted

• lettuce and sliced tomato, for serving

Directions:

1. Make the Old Bay Remoulade: In a small bowl, mix mayo, vinegar, Old Bay, relish, mustard, capers, and green onion. Stir well until combined. Set aside in the fridge.

2. Make the Shrimp Burgers: Place shrimp, onions, celery, green pepper, salt, and cajun seasoning in a food processor. Pulse 2-3 times in short pulses until shrimp is finely chopped (similar texture to a wet ground meat). Transfer to a bowl. Add panko, and gently mix with your hands until fully combined. Form in to 4 patties. Place patties on a wax paper lined plate, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 mins.

3. Remove patties from fridge. Heat canola oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When oil starts to shimmer, add shrimp patties. Cook 4-5 minutes per side until outside is light golden brown, shrimp are cooked all the way through, and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

4. Assemble the sandwiches: Place shrimp burger, a big schmear of remoulade, lettuce, and tomato on each toasted bun. Enjoy!

Recipe notes:

*You don't have to eat all of the sammies at once. The shrimp burgers can be stored in a container in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheated briefly in the microwave. Just assemble the sammies when you're ready to eat.

*The ground shrimp is a little strange and definitely sticky and gooey. Grinding the shrimp will happen very quickly, so stick to no more than 3 short pulses. Placing the patties in the fridge will help them keep their shape while they cook.

*To toast your brioche buns, place the buns cut side down in a dry non stick skillet over medium high heat. They only take a minute or two to toast and will be perfectly golden.

*The Old Bay Remoulade is also amazing with other seafood. You'll have some leftover to experiment with. Try it with crab or salmon....mmmm!