Crabby Oscar Burger Sliders

A new take on the iconic Steak Oscar. Here, the crab becomes the base and top for the juicy burger. Of course there must be asparagus and hollandaise to maintain the Oscar status.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6 sliders

Ingredients

For the crab:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion finely diced
½ red pepper finely diced
½ yellow or orange pepper finely diced
1 bunch scallions thinly sliced
1 egg
1/3 cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
8 ounces crabmeat claw is fine
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the asparagus:
24 thin stalks asparagus trimmed at the bottom
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the burgers:
6 pretzel slider buns sliced horizontally
1 pound ground beef
For the hollandaise:
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
8 ounces butter melted and hot

Instructions

For the crab:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and peppers over medium low heat until the onion is completely translucent but not brown.
Turn heat up to medium and add scallions. Cook for only one minute and set pan aside to cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg with a fork. Add mayonnaise, salt, and mustard and breadcrumbs and blend well. Fold in the crabmeat and cooled onion and pepper mixture. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to a day.
For the asparagus:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet or sheet pan with parchment paper and coat the paper with the olive oil.
Put the trimmed asparagus on the pan, rolling them around in the oil.
Bake 10 minutes and remove from the oven and set aside at room temperature.
Trim the ends off of the asparagus so they are two inches longer than the width of the slider buns.
For the burgers:
Divide the burger meat into 6 even pieces and form into small burger patties just slightly larger than the burger buns to allow for shrinkage when cooking.
Refrigerate until grilling indoors or outside.
For the hollandaise:
In a blender or food processor combine the egg yolks, lemon, salt and cayenne and blend for a few seconds until combined.
Heat the butter until it is very hot in a covered glass measuring cup or small saucepan.
While the blender of food processor is steadily running, slowly dribble the hot butter through the top opening until the sauce is very smooth. Transfer the sauce to a double boiler or a bowl set in very slowly simmering water. Do not let the hollandaise get too hot or it will curdle.
Assembling the burgers:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Preheat a grill pan or an outdoor grill for the burgers.
When you are ready to cook, spread the twelve slider bun halves evenly with the crab mixture (about a heaping tablespoon per bun side).
Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the butter and oil and when it is bubbling, place the crab coated slider buns face down in the pan. Cook until the bottoms are just brown and transfer the buns, crab side up to the sheet pan and place in the oven.
Repeat with the rest of the buns.
While the crab buns are cooking on the stove, put the burgers out on the grill. Cook them to desired doneness.
Set out all of the bottoms of the buns on a serving platter. Place a cooked burger on each one, four stalks of asparagus, a spoonful of hollandaise and the top of the bun. Serve immediately as a appetizer or main course.