Seafood Burgers: a portable hearty bite

Glazes are an easy way to add as much or as little extra flavor to a traditional burger. I like to drench my seafood burgers in glaze and always include extra for dipping. To mix it up even more, slice the burger as thin as possible and serve it over a bed of lettuce with the sauce drizzled everywhere. This is a great appetizer.

If you like this recipe, you'll be happy to know this technique also works with just about any fresh seafood. I highly recommend using the food processor to mince the seafood to the right consistency.

Fun note: this recipe was featured on the TODAY show and quite the hit!

Seafood Burger with Orange-Ginger Glaze
makes 4 hearty burgers

For the glaze:
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained and chopped, plus 2 tablespoons of the canning juice

For the burgers:
2 pounds fresh:
tuna steaks, fresh salmon steaks scallops, cleaned shrimp, fresh lobster meat
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup sesame oil (or olive oil)

4 fresh burger buns, toasted and buttered

Make the glaze: Combine all the glaze ingredients with 1/3 cup water in a 1-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the glaze coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve (or don’t, if you like chunky glazes) and reserve in a warm place until the burgers are cooked.

Make the burgers: Remove any skin or gristle from the seafood, then grind up the meat in a meat grinder or chop it with a sharp knife just to the texture of hamburger meat. If you have a food processor, you should chop the seafood into cubes first and use the plastic dough blade to mince the seafood.

Transfer the ground seafood to a bowl and combine with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Divide the seafood into 4 equal portions. Using your hands, roll each into a smooth ball and then flatten into a compact patty.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high flame and carefully transfer the burgers into the skillet. The cooking times are:

tuna: about 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare
salmon, scallops, cleaned shrimp, fresh lobster meat: 4 minutes per side This meat should turn opaque to be cooked through. For this, it's best to use a lid during the cooking process.

Serve each on a buttered, toasted bun topped with 1 tablespoon of the warm glaze.

Lobster Meat and Pasta: one of my favorite combinations

Lobster meat and pasta are a perfect match and one of my favorite combinations. These two ingredients are so versatile they are excellent for inventing recipes on the spot.

How's that work?

Just start with your favorite ingredients, for example if you like Italian flavors-try minced garlic, chopped parsley, and cherry tomatoes. Saute these ingredients together in a skillet with a little olive oil and then add in the cooked pasta. Mix the pasta around to absorb the juice from the tomato, which takes a few minutes. At the very last minute, add in the lobster meat and stir again until it becomes warm. Turn off the heat and serve.

If you like Asian flavors, the ingredients to try would be: minced garlic and ginger, hoisin or oyster sauce, and a sprinkle of lime and cilantro.

Using this technique, it's super easy to create amazing dishes based on whatever it is you like.

Another really neat thing about lobster is it can be as down to earth or fancy as you would like. For a home cooked feel, just serve with little to no fanfare, however, to dress up lobster meat and pasta, simply lay the pasta fancifully on the plate and reserve a nice lobster claw to place on top with sprinkle of freshly chopped herbs.

Lobster-Shrimp-Bean Salad

You can use any bean you like to make this salad. I am partial to cannellini and chickpeas for their flavor. This is a great recipe for block parties. The lobster and shrimp are best served cold or at room temperature. If it is an adult party, add a dash of cayenne pepper to the salad and toss. Serve with ice cold beer and thinly sliced lemon wedges.

Lobster-Shrimp-Bean Salad is great served in hollowed out baked potatoes, tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms...I think you get the idea. And if you feel like serving this up as a dip with crackers, mash up all the beans, finely mince the shrimp and lobster and prepare as below.

Lobster-Shrimp-Bean Salad
makes 4 servings

1 pound large shrimp, steamed 3 to 5 minutes, shelled, deveined,
and roughly chopped into ¼-inch dice
flecks of roughly chopped cooked lobster meat, or about ¼ cup
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon ground dried sage
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, lobster meat, garlic, sage, beans, chickpeas, salt, pepper, oil, and lemon juice. Toss until well combined. Cover the salad with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before
tossing again and serving.