Shrimp Burgers With Sweet 'n' Spicy Tartar Sauce

Prep: 25 min., Chill: 1 hr., Freeze: 30 min., Grill: 12 min. Recipes for shrimp burgers, a favorite food of Southern shrimping towns, are often a big secret. Here we divulge our version, which is chunky and spicy with some Cajun flair.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Other Time: 1 hour(s) 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/4  pounds  unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp (31/40 count)
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten
• 1  tablespoon  mayonnaise
• 2  teaspoons  lemon juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 3  tablespoons  finely chopped celery
• 2  tablespoons  chopped green onion
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/4  cups  crushed cornbread crackers (about 1 sleeve or 24 crackers)
• 4  Kaiser rolls with poppy seeds, split
• Sweet 'n' Spicy Tartar Sauce
• 4  Bibb lettuce leaves
• Garnish: grilled lemon halves

Preparation

1. Peel shrimp; devein, if desired. Cut each shrimp into thirds.

2. Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil. Coat with cooking spray.

3. Stir together egg and next 4 ingredients until blended; stir in celery, green onion, and parsley. Fold in shrimp and cracker crumbs (mixture will be very thick). Shape into 4 (4-inch-wide, 1-inch-thick) patties. Place patties on prepared pan. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours. Transfer to freezer, and freeze 30 minutes.

4. Coat cold cooking grate of grill with cooking spray, and place on grill. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Grill burgers, covered with grill lid, 4 to 5 minutes or until burgers lift easily from cooking grate using a large spatula. Turn burgers, and grill 4 to 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and burgers are cooked through and lightly crisp.

5. Grill buns, cut sides down, 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Serve burgers on buns with Sweet 'n' Spicy Tartar Sauce and lettuce. Garnish, if desired.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Keebler Town House Bistro Corn Bread Crackers.