A visit to LT Burger and a recipe for Creole Crab Burgers
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The summer of the Burger is fast coming to an end. Out here on the
East end of Long Island, the burger buzz has centered around a new entry onto the local dining scene, LT Burger, on Main Street in Sag Harbor. The LT in question is Laurent Tourondel whose BLT restaurants in the city are consistently near the top of everyone’s favorite places lists. There’s BLT Steak, BLT Prime, BLT Fish, BLT Market and, of course, BLT Burger. As popular as his restaurants are, the Burger place on 6th Avenue never achieved the rarefied status of his other places. But with his East End partner Michael Cinque, the pair have a real winner at LT Burger. (The “B” got lost in a local trademark issue.) They have managed to make it a locavore enterprise. They’ve got a Long Island-only wine list and there’s a cheeseburger using our esteemed cheesemaker, Arthur Ludlow’s wonderful cheese. And they offer Farmer’s market favorite Horman’s pickles– in this case, battered and fried and served with a cajun spicy dipping sauce. There’s a Turkey burger and a Falafel offered on a wonderful whole grain bun. The one thing they don’t have is a seafood inspired burger. So to fill in that gap, I want to share a really wonderful crab burger that I found in an old Gourmet (RIP).
Now a crab burger is basically a crab cake that’s then made into a sandwich. With a thin layer of a good tartar sauce and some shredded iceberg lettuce, it’s as good as any burger we’ve eaten all summer. And I’d suggest you keep these on the menu long into the fall. They come together very easily. Start to finish, they only take 30 minutes to get on the table.
We get our crab at Costco. It has an amazingly long refrigerator life so you can stock up weeks in advance of its expiration date. Here’s the recipe:
Recipe for Creole Crab Burgers
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 3/4 cups fine dry bread crumbs, divided
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split and toasted
Accompaniments: tartar sauce; iceberg lettuce
Stir together crabmeat, mayonnaise, scallions, egg, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 cup bread crumbs in a bowl until just combined. Form into 4 (1-inch-thick) patties (3 1/2 inches in diameter; patties will be soft but will firm up when fried). Spread remaining cup bread crumbs on a plate, then dredge patties in crumbs, knocking off excess, and transfer to a platter.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then fry patties, turning over once, until golden, 5 to 6 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Assemble burgers with buns and accompaniments.
Cooks’ note: Patties can be formed, without bread-crumb coating, 12 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Dredge in bread crumbs just before frying.
Did you know that New York State is the second largest apple producer in the whole country? Only Washington State tops us. Trust a resourceful friend of ours, Wendy Brovetto, native New Yorker and grandchild of an Upstate New York Farm family, to create truly incredible Rustic Apple Jams in 4 extraordinary flavors. When she did, Croton Trading Co. was born.
Wendy explains ”We created our apple jam after one of those overzealous days of apple picking yielded a larger-than-usual haul. With more apples than any family could consume, the experimenting began and gave way to what we think is the perfect blend of apples and cinnamon.”
“We source our apples from local NY Orchards -- Thompson's Orchard in Westchester Co andl Richters Orchard on Long Island. I have a special fondness for these family-owned farms. Richters Orchard was a big part of my childhood, as my sistersand I would go on weekly outings with my dad to stock up on apples and cider"
"We carefully blend different apples to create our flavor profile and find inspiration from seasonal spices to create our Apple Jam”. Wendy proudly states.
Now Croton Trading Company is up to 4 flavors: Fall Harvest Blend, Ginger Pear Fusion, Chai, and Brown Sugar. You can see the whole range here:
Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to put Croton Trading Company’s Apple Jam to work making our Skillet Apple Pork Chops. This one-pot recipe is perfect for weeknights but so good you may want to serve to company. The chops finish cooking in Croton Trading’s Apple Jam and we always serve it on the side to give even more great apple taste to the dish. Here’s the recipe:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-oz.) bone-in pork chops
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 cup Croton Trading Rustic Apple Jam (we used Ginger Pear)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 small red onion, thinly vertically sliced
Chopped Parsley for garnish.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with 3/8 teaspoon salt and 3/8 teaspoon pepper. Add pork chops to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until pork chops beautifully browned. Remove from pan. Set aside pan and drippings.
In a small bowl, combine stock and Croton Trading Apple Jam, stirring with a whisk. Set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan with drippings, swirl. Add remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 3/8 teaspoon pepper, sage, rosemary, and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in stock mixture. Return pork chops to pan; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Plate each chop individually. Top with chopped parsley as a garnish. Serve with plenty of Croton Trading Apple Jam on the side.
Looks fabulous!