Scallop Burgers with Bacon and Zucchini

I really love making burgers with meaty fish but I haven’t done it in a couple years. I was brainstorming for a new take on this idea and I settled on using scallops as the meat. I had scallops in the freezer already, and its actually important in this recipe to use semi frozen scallops to keep the burgers from turning into mush. The only other time I ever ate scallops not whole was a scallop mousse and I have bad memories about it. These burgers leave the scallops in pea-sized pieces which makes for a great burger texture. Cooking them in bacon fat adds that rich umami flavor and that great seared taste that you crave from scallops.
Make the sauce first. It’s yogurt, parsley, jalapenos, honey, and lime.
Make the burgers in the same processor without really cleaning out the sauce.
Stir in the breadcrumbs. You may need more or less depending on the moisture levels.
Form the burgers and place them on a paper towel with another on top. Pop them in the fridge for an hour or so.
Cook them in the bacon fat on high heat to sear on both sides and cook through.
Serve with the bacon, yogurt sauce, and zucchini!
So tasty, really great textures and flavors! the sear on the burgers is key to this recipe and adds a nice crust to the burgers.
The briny ocean flavor of the scallops is very prominent and it goes so well with the freshness of the zucchini and yogurt sauce. And bacon and scallops are best friends so you can’t go wrong with that combo.
Scallop Burgers with Bacon and Zucchini
Scallop burgers made in the food processor and served on a roll with bacon, a jalapeno honey lime yogurt sauce, and zucchini noodles.
Servings: 3 burgers
Ingredients
yogurt sauce
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 2 Jalapenos some of the seeds removed and chopped
- handful parsley
- 2 limes juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 clove garlic
- salt and pepper
scallop burgers
- 3/4 pound frozen scallops about half way thawed and patted dry.
- 3 scallons chopped
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
toppings
- 1 large zucchini julienne peeled or just buy zoodles
- 3 slices bacon
- 3 bulkie rolls
Instructions
- Put all the yogurt ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Add in as many seeds from the jalapenos as desired for your heat level. I did about 40 percent of the total amount of seeds from the 2 jalapenos.
- Pour into a container and use a spatula to scrape out the bowl of the processor, but do not wash it out.
- Add the scallops to the food processor and the chopped scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse until you have about pea-sized scallop pieces. Remove from the processor into a bowl.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs. Form 3 patties and place them on a paper towel. Cover with another paper towel and place in the fridge for a half hour to an hour.
- Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crisp and remove.
- In the bacon fat, cook the scallop patties on high heat to sear, about 4 minutes per side.
- Place a little yogurt sauce on the bottom bread, then top with the scallop patty, then the bacon, the zucchini, more sauce, and the top bun. Serve.