Seafood Salad Sandwich
Seafood Salad Sandwich- Lump crab and roasted shrimp are mixed in a creamy dressing studded with Old Bay then stuffed inside toasted brioche rolls.
April 25, 2022 by Nicole Collins
Story time!
This is a story about lobster.
Once upon a time, I was sure I hated lobster. I’m an avid seafood lover, but lobster just did not do it for me. Now it is worth noting, the only time I’d ever had a taste of lobster was at Outback Steakhouse.
Anyone see the problem???
Fast forward many many years, and I decide I want to try a lobster roll. Don’t ask me why after years of “hating” lobster had I decided that I wanted a bite of this infamous sandwich. So, I stalked restaurants in my area, found a food truck right down the street serving them, and the rest is history.
Your girl became obsessed.
That lobster roll, though delicious, was EXPENSIVE. So I started doing my own research on buying pre-cooked, frozen, and fresh lobster. And, guess what? It’s just as expensive. As much as I’d love to say I don’t bat an eye at spending money on good seafood, $30+ for ½ lb of meat is just not sustainable. And, I’m too obsessed to not be able to have a good seafood sammie when I want it.
So, today’s recipe is my compromise to the lobster roll dilemma.
Today, we’re making Seafood Salad Sandwiches!
Consider this the knock off version of a lobster roll. We’re taking lump crab meat and roasted shrimp, mixing it into a savory dressing, then stuffing the delicious salad into toasted brioche rolls. I always thought lobster tasted like crab but felt like shrimp, so this is the perfect salad to trick your tastebuds while simultaneously making them extremely happy.
So, let’s get to it!
Let’s start with our base dressing. I knew I wanted to use both crab and shrimp in this salad. So, I took flavor inspiration from 2 of my favorite crab and shrimp recipes: crab cakes and shrimp salad. I wanted to go the creamy route with the salad, so we’re going to use mayo as our base. Then, we’re going to add minced shallot and minced celery which are components that I stole from my shrimp salad. These veggies add a nice crunch to an otherwise softer textured salad.
For the crab cake inspired ingredients, I added some dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, and minced parsley. These tangy elements do a great job of balancing out some of the richness of our seafood and cutting any heaviness from the mayo.
But, other than the seafood, the real star of the show is Old Bay. It’s no secret how I feel about Old Bay. We practically use it in 1 of 3 recipes around here. And, that’s for good reason. On top of being an 18 for the price of 1 seasoning blend thanks to the 18 herbs and spices in the mix, it adds that perfect amount of savory flavor to our seafood salad. Now if you taste this dressing on its own before you mix in the seafood, it’s going to taste aggressive. You’re going to think it’s too salty or too spicy. But, TRUST ME. Once you get the crab mixed in, it’s going to soak up all that delicious flavor and mellow out nicely.
Like I said earlier, we’re going to use an equal mix of crab and shrimp for this salad. I always recommend buying fresh lump crab meat as opposed to canned crab if you can, because the taste doesn’t even compare. As far as the shrimp, we’re simply going to sprinkle it with more Old Bay, let it roast in the oven for about 10 mins, let it cool, and chop it up. That’s it! Even better, if you have some leftover steamed shrimp (like from this recipe here), that would work perfectly in this salad too.
From there, we mix everything together pretty gently so that we don’t destroy the crab. Then, we’ll let it chill in the fridge for a bit so all of those flavors can marry together. And then, we eat! We’re going all in with seafood salad and brioche buns…that’s it. We don’t even need any garnishes to fill out the sandwich. You can add lettuce and tomato if you really want to, but it’s not necessary at all.
These sammies…WOW. The seafood is slightly sweet and truly succulent. The dressing is the perfect balance of tangy and savory. The bite of shallot adds a nice sharpness, while the bite of celery adds nice crunchy texture. Then, you have that toasted bun that’s naturally buttery. And, the whole situation is a seafood lover’s dream.
This is the perfect plan B when you don’t want to break the bank on a lobster roll. And, it’s the perfect plan A if you just want something extra delicious.
Ok, everyone. Should we do a warm butter based version of seafood salad next? Let me know what you think!
In the meantime, enjoy! And, let’s eat!
Seafood Salad Sandwich
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
½ pound shrimp, peeled (thawed, if frozen)
½ tbsp olive oil
½ + 2 tsp Old Bay, divided
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 stalk celery, minced
½ small shallot, minced (about 1 tbsp)
8 oz lump crab meat, picked through for shells
4 brioche rolls, lightly toasted
Directions:
Roast the Shrimp: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Add shrimp, olive oil, and ½ tsp Old bay to the baking sheet; and toss with your hands to completely coat the shrimp. Roast for 10-12 minutes until the shrimp are opaque and fully cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing: To a mixing bowl, add mayo, lemon juice, dijon, 2 tsp Old Bay, and parsley. Mix well to combine.
Chop shrimp into bite sized pieces. Add shrimp to bowl with dressing along with celery, shallot, and crab. Toss gently to mix until fully combined. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
To serve, scoop seafood salad into the center of toasted brioche buns. Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
*If not serving this all at once, leftover seafood salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
*The dressing on its own is going to taste like the Old Bay is a little aggressive at first. But, once it has a chance to soak into the crab and shrimp, it will tame down significantly. Trust me!
*Get fresh crab meat as opposed to crab in a can if you have the opportunity. Since crab is one of the stars of the show, we want to use the freshest seafood available.
