Lone Star Crawfish and Crab Burgers

This burger was created with my absolute love for crawfish and crab.When I was growing up my large family would have great crawfish boil parties in our backyard. Newspapers filled our picnic table with at least fifty pounds of crawfish, new potatoes and corn. The spicier the better! My favorite memory was my dad who made us bravely corral and pick up stray live crawfish trying to escape their inevitable fate. We would scream with glee as we put them in the boiling cauldron fragrant with Cajun seasoning. At this time in Texas most of our local grocery stores have set days when you can pick up live crawfish. We love these little crustaceans in the Lone Star State and I have even converted my Yankee husband to love them too. My 15 year old son has already been to four crawfish parties and the season has just begun. Creating this burger makes me realize that great food creates wonderful family gatherings that in turn create family traditions and lots of love.

Ingredients:

Ingredients

Patties
12 ounce package frozen crawfish tails drained
16 ounces fresh lump crab meat
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (I used Tony Chachere’s)
1 jalapeño seeded and chopped
3 green onions chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped fine
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped
2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon creole mustard
1 ear fresh corn shucked and washed
20 finely crushed saltine crackers
1 egg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
½ cup toasted pecans chopped

Lemon dressing
4 cloves garlic chopped
5 green onions chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 lemons juiced seeds removed
1 egg yolk
¼ cup olive oil

Fried bread and butter pickles
24 sliced jalapeño bread and butter pickles
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups of beer (I used Shiner Bock)
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

Texas Toast

6 Tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic chopped fine
6 white sesame seed buns

3 cups iceberg lettuce shredded
6 slices vine ripe tomatoes

Instructions:

In a large fire-proof non stick skillet heat the olive oil. Add the jalapeño, green onions, bell pepper and celery and cook until tender on 300 degrees about 5 minutes. At the same time grill corn until slightly charred on all sides. When cool, cut kernels off the cob and add to the vegetables in the skillet. In a small skillet on 300 degrees toast pecans about 3 minutes, then set aside. Add cooked vegetables to all the burger ingredients except the pecans and crackers. In a food processor slowly pulse until all ingredients are blended. Empty food processor into a bowl. Mix in pecans and crushed saltines. Make 6 patties and set aside until ready to cook.

In a food processor add all the lemon dressing ingredients except olive oil which should be drizzled in slowly until the mixture is smooth. This should be prepared just before burgers are assembled. To prepare the fried pickles, wipe out the large skillet, add vegetable oil and heat at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes until hot. In a bowl mix 1½ cups of beer, the Creole seasoning and 1 cup flour to make the beer batter. Place pickles in beer batter. Cook pickles in the skillet about 4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and cover loosely to keep warm.

Brush two tablespoons of oil onto the grill. Cook seafood burgers about 6 minutes on each side on 300 degrees.

To make the Texas Toast allow butter to reach room temperature. Mix in garlic. With a butter knife spread a small amount on each bun. Just before assembling the burger place buns on the grill about 1 minute until slightly toasted. To assemble the burger spread a teaspoon of the lemon sauce on bottom part of bun. Next place in order the fried pickles, lettuce, tomato and then the patty. Spread the lemon sauce on the top part of the bun. Finish assembly and enjoy.

Serves 6