Inspired by poulet aux ecrevisses, a classic French pairing of chicken and crayfish, we’ve created a chicken and crab burger for a lighter surf-and-turf variation. As it turns out, crab is an incredibly versatile ingredient that spans nearly the entire aromatic spectrum so the possibilities for pairing are endless!
More than just ketchup
Instead of the usual ketchup, our chicken and crab burger features strawberry salsa as a condiment. The crab’s fruity, caramellic notes provide direct links to the strawberries. To complement their sweet tartness, we combine them with pointed red peppers which lend their own sweetness to the mix, and red bell peppers for their more savory cucumber and green, fatty-like aromatic notes.
“A touch of red wine vinegar serves to accent the fruit notes of our strawberries and pointed red peppers.”
Depending upon your spice tolerance, you can give your crab and chicken burger a little kick by adding a dash—or more—of chili powder to your salsa.”
More than just mayonnaise
Crab cakes and aioli are yet another common pairing, but instead we’ll use a crème of corn spread for our burger. By melting white chocolate into the fresh corn purée, which enhances the corn’s popcorn-like scent with its own buttery popcorn and grassy olive oil-like aromas, we also give the crème a smoother, creamier texture and fatty mouth feel. Then, to temper its sweetness, a touch of of lemon juice helps balance our crème of corn spread.
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Chicken & Crab Burger with strawberry salsa
Chicken & Crab patties
preparation
- 150 g chicken meat, minced
- 50 g crab meat
- 5 g egg yolk
- 5 g panko bread crumbs
- olive oil
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste. Portion out 75 grams for each burger patty and shape the mixture using your hands. Transfer the patties to the refrigerator to set for one hour. Once ready to cook, heat some olive oil in a saute pan and fry the chicken-crab patties.
Strawberry Salsa
preparation
- 2 red pointed peppers
- 25 g red bell pepper, finely diced
- 50 g strawberries
- red wine vinegar, a few drops
- chili powder, a dash or to taste
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preheat your oven to 200ºC/392ºF.
Meanwhile, use a knife to make a few slits in your pointed peppers, and then drizzle a bit of olive oil over them. Transfer the pointed peppers to a sheet pan and bake them until they are tender to the touch.
Next, peel the skins of the pointed peppers and remove the seeds. Finely dice the flesh.
In a bowl, combine 60 grams of the finely diced red bell peppers with the diced strawberries. Add a few drops of red wine vinegar and the chili. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Note: If you prefer a sweeter, fruitier salsa, just add more strawberries (not to exceed the combined amount of the red pointed peppers and bell peppers).
Crème of Corn
preparation
- 150 g fresh corn purée
- 40 g white chocolate (not too sweet, e.g. Valrhôna’s Ivoire 35% baking bar)
- 3 g olive oil
- lemon juice, to taste
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Boil the fresh corn until cooked and then purée in a mixer.
Heat 150 grams of corn purée in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the white chocolate and olive oil, stirring until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Finish with some lemon juice, to taste.
