Seafood Sliders

Unfortunately Seafood Week has come to an end, but let’s not start crying and throwing things just yet (you can save that for when you’ve finished reading this post). All good things must come to an end. Lucky for us all, I managed to save the best recipe for last. In case you’re just joining us for the first time this week, I’ll refresh your memory. We kicked things off with my childhood enemy, but now all-time favorite fish meal, Crunchy Fish Sticks with homemade tartar sauce. It was all of our breaded and fried seafood dreams come true. Then when we were beginning to get restless with the week we were presented with Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, accompanied by not one but two sauces for dipping and dunking. Homemade cocktail sauce and a Cajun remoulade. I had a competition with myself to see just how many warm shrimp I could eat in one sitting. I wont disclose the exact amount because it’s embarrassing, but as it turns out, I can eat a lot of shrimp. Like a lot of shrimp. Let’s turn our attention back to the end of Seafood Week, though. Back to being sad. Back to throwing things. We’re rounding out the week with a delicious recipe that although tiny in size, is packed with so much flavor. Like jump kick you in the face with flavor. These Seafood Sliders are the perfect Friday night meal. 

In case you weren’t already aware of it, I have an unhealthy obsession with sliders. They’re my thing. I feel like if I could, I totally would’ve invented the slider. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t invent them. Someone beat me to it. I’m always one step behind. I’ll have to settle for being The Slider King of the World, however. You might ask where I get off calling myself that. Allow me to explain. My past slider incarnations have been some of the best posts/recipes on this site. Pot Roast Sliders, Fried Green Tomato and Shrimp Sliders, BLT Biscuit Sliders, Baked Potato Sliders and Steak and White Cheddar Panini Sliders. I pretty much deserve the title, or at the very least a parking spot with “Reserved for The Slider King of The World” attached to it. One day. I can dream can’t I?

These Seafood Sliders are made with a mixture of fresh ground fish and shrimp, among other tasty ingredients, and are formed into small patties. I’d never ground up seafood before, and I have to admit that I was a little scared, but thankfully I survived! I need a t-shirt with that written on it. Anyhow, these fish and shrimp patties are the perfect vessel for tartar sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles on a tiny bun. My favorite thing about sliders is that I can eat about three of them and feel like I can do anything in the world. Also, I love acting like I’m a giant holding a regular sized burger and I’m about to terrorize the city like Godzilla or something. Is that crazy? It’s probably crazier if I admitted to actually going around the house eating sliders roaring and stomping around like a monster. Not that I do that or anything. It’s all hypothetical. I’ll tell you what isn’t hypothetical, these sliders.

We’re going to start by making the fresh fish and shrimp patties. This is actually a lot easier than it would seem, and than what I first thought. We literally just dump everything into a food processor and let it do all of the work for us. Into the bowl of a food processor, combine the fish, shrimp, crackers, lemon juice, scallions, capers, salt, pepper and paprika. 

**Tip: You can use whatever fresh white fish you like, cod would be great! I’m using an orange roughy because I like to consider myself a fancy individual, but also because that’s all the grocery store had on hand.**

Pulse a few times and blend until it looks like a paste. It should have the same consistency as ground chicken or turkey. 

**Tip: The crackers help bind the fish, but it is also helpful to allow the ground fish mixture to rest for a few minutes to allow it to set a bit before forming the patties.**

Form the ground fish and shrimp mixture into small rounds, about the size of golfballs, and then flatten them out into patties. 

**Tip: Wet your hands slightly with a bit of water to prevent the fish mixture from sticking to your hands as you shape the burgers.**

Place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Allow to rest for a few minutes. In the meantime, heat a skillet over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. 

Sauté the patties for about 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, or until browned and crisp. Turn over and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes on the second side. 

Transfer the cooked patties to a plate or plater or separate baking sheet. Don’t be placing it back on the first baking sheet because that’s cross contamination and that’s gross (ew). Also deadly. Continue cooking the rest in the similar manner. Once they’re all done, you can split the buns and toast them in the pan or the oven. Whichever you prefer.

**Note: You can use whatever buns or rolls you find at the grocery store for this recipe. I found these honey whole wheat oatmeal buns and thought they worked so great for these sliders.**

Spread the buns with tartar sauce (you can find the recipe in our Crunchy Fish Stick post). Place the fish patty on top and also a few pieces of red leaf lettuce. 

Top with tomato slices, thinly sliced red onions and pickle chips for some extra flavor and texture. Place the top bun on and skewer with a long toothpick or small skewer to hold it all in place. You don’t want anything slipping and sliding.

Sliders are most commonly found on menus under appetizers, and yeah they’re great as little snacks to share before your meal, but I actually love to make and eat them for dinner. I serve these with potato chips (kettle cooked are my favorite), a tossed salad and a few glasses of cold beer. The cold brew is optional of course but I think it’s necessary when you’re eating sliders on a Friday after a long week. 

If you cant find any small buns or rolls, or just want full sized burgers for dinner, you can definitely adapt this recipe to be made into larger normal sized seafood burgers. The patties could also be grilled on a stove top grill pan or outdoor grill for a more flavorful burger and/or slider!

I’m going to miss Seafood week but I’ll be looking forward to Seafood Week numero dos, sometime in the future. Aka, whenever I can come up with some more interesting seafood recipes. I hope you enjoyed Seafood Week as much as I did. Give some of these a try soon and remember we all should be eating more fish. More importantly we should all be making and eating more sliders. Sliders rock. Enjoy!

Seafood Sliders

These sliders are made with ground up white fish and shrimp. Formed into patties and sautéed until crispy. Served on a honey oat bun with tarter sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles!

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds fresh orange roughy or cod
• 1 pound fresh shrimp peeled and deveined
• 8 saltine crackers crushed
• ¼ cup capers drained
• ¼ cup scallions chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 slider rolls or buns
• ½ cup tarter sauce
• 2 to matoes thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion thinly sliced
• 20 pickle chips
• red leaf lettuce

Instructions

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the fish, shrimp, crackers, capers, scallions, parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pulse until a paste forms. It should have the same consistency as ground chicken or turkey. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes.
• With wet hands, form the mixture into balls the size of gold balls, and flatten out into ½ inch thick patties. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Drizzle in the olive oil and allow to heat through. Add the patties, about three at a time, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, or until golden brown and crispy. Turn over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes on the second side. Transfer to a plate or platter or separate baking sheet and continue cooking the rest.
• Split the rolls or buns and toast in he skillet, cut side down, or in the oven. Spread both sides of the bun with tarter sauce and top with a fish patty, tomato slice, onion, pickles and lettuce. Place the top bun on and skewer with a long toothpick.
• Serve the sliders with a salad or potato chips on the side. Enjoy!

Notes

yields: about 10 sliders

Author: The Candid Appetite