By Meg Walker
06th Jul 2023
06th Jul 2023
Moreish sliders without the beef: these prawn burgers are delicious and super-easy.
“When I first mentioned this burger to George, he gave me a look that I’ve come to know very well – it’s the ‘calm down Terry, you’re getting carried away fella’ look,” says Terry Edwards of his pal and cookbook co-author George Craig. “But once I had made it, he was converted (which is usually the case).” This burger is a delightful play on a classic prawn cocktail.
Cook it, eat it and make your own mind up – I’m pretty sure you’ll love it too!
Grilled prawn cocktail burgers
Serves 6 large burgers or 10 sliders
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for grilling
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1kg jumbo prawn tails, peeled
- 2 tbsp soft white breadcrumbs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the cocktail sauce
- 75g mayonnaise
- 75g ketchup
- Tabasco, to taste
- 15ml brandy
- splash of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
To serve
- 6 brioche buns (or 10 mini ones)
- baby gem lettuce leaves
- sliced beef tomato
- pickled cucumber
Method
1 Heat the oil in a pan and gently sweat the onion, garlic and carrot over a low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions are soft. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely and then add the cayenne, paprika and lemon zest and juice.
2 Place the prawn tails in a food processor with the cooled vegetables and breadcrumbs and blitz to a coarse mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Fry a small amount of the mixture so you can taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
3 Divide and shape the mixture into 6 flattened patties and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
4 Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl; taste and adjust the seasoning and set aside until ready to serve. (If you have a squeezy bottle, pour the sauce into one of these.)
5 Lightly oil both sides of each patty and place on the hottest part of the barbecue for 2 minutes on each side, turning carefully. Then move over to a cooler part of the barbecue for another 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.
6 Spread (or squirt) both sides of the brioche buns with the cocktail sauce and assemble the burgers with lettuce, tomato slices and pickled cucumber.
Extracted from Feeding Friends by Terry Edwards and George Craig (Hodder & Stoughton). Photography – Georgie Clarke.
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