Scallop And Corn Bacon Burgers With Spicy Mayo

Well tonight's scallop burger was really tasty, but really messy!  I did not cook it on a grill.  (something that would have been a viritual impossibility!)  I cooked the patties in a saute pan with butter.  They fell apart when flipped.  I don't see how they could have cooked on a grill without some kind of binder.  I did diverge from the recipe in that I used bay scallops instead of the sea scallops, but for $6 more a pound, I figured I'm pureeing them;  they didn't need to be large.  I can't see how that would affect the way the burgers were bound together. I also halved the recipe, but since I kept the proportions the same, I don't see how that would have affected them.  They were prepared well in advance, so the patties were well chilled and should have set.  I didn't have tabasco, so I used crystal and a dash or two of a homade chipotle hot sauce.  I would have liked the mayo a bit spicier, but that is just me.  I had another of those: damn I watch too much Top Chef and (at the same time) damn, my 10 year old son is cool moments.  As my boy is eating the ends of his burger that had crumbled and fallen out of the bun (and it is a lot), he asks me, "May I have some more spicy mayo for my deconstructed patty?"  Oh my, we got a good laugh at that, but at the same time, we are pretty proud.  I am reminded of the time he took a big wiff of a stir fry I had made and he says, "do I detect  notes of purple cabbage?"  (Yes we watch too much food oriented programing, but I love that he likes it too!) Well, at the end of the meal, we all decided we would make this again ( I mean, SCALLOPS, BACON and CORN!).  However, we will need to either tweek the recipe so that the patty stays "constructed", or we will just have to rename it;).

  
Scallop And Corn Bacon Burgers With Spicy Mayo
Yield: 6 Servings

    1/2 c  mayonnaise
      3 T  ketchup
           Tabasco sauce
           Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
      3    ears of corn,shucked
  1 1/2 lb sea scallops,coarsely chopped
           Vegetable oil
      6    soft hamburger buns,split
      6    lettuce leaves
      6    thick tomato slices
     12 slices cooked thick-cut bacon
[Note: Scallops make incredibly juicy burgers despite their low fat content. Marcia Kiesel adds corn to her scallop burgers for a bit of
sweetness and crunch. To keep the burgers moist,   don't overcook them; there should be a thin layer of barely cooked scallop at the center.]
Directions
1. In a small bowl, blend the mayonnaise with the ketchup. Season with Tabasco, salt and pepper. Refrigerate.
2. In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the corn until tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly. Working
over the plate, cut the kernels from the cobs; you'll need 1 1/2 cups of corn kernels.
3. In a food processor, process 3/4 cup of the corn kernels to a paste. Add one-third of the scallops, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2
teaspoon of pepper and process to a paste. Add the remaining scallops and process until just blended; there should be small lumps of scallop
in the mixture. Scrape the mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of corn kernels. With oiled hands, pat the mixture
into burgers, then cover and refrigerate them until ready to grill.
4. Light a grill. Toast the hamburger buns over a medium-hot fire, about 10 seconds. Brush the scallop burgers with vegetable oil and
grill them over a medium-hot fire until they are nicely charred and barely cooked in the center, about 4 minutes per side.
5. Spread a thin layer of spicy mayonnaise on both halves of the buns. Place the lettuce and tomato slices on the bottom halves and top with
the scallop burgers. Top each burger with 2 slices of bacon. Close the sandwiches and serve at once with the remaining spicy mayonnaise on the
side.