Most Southern foods have taken flight since World War II, landing in far-flung places around the nation. There’s decent Texas-style barbecued brisket in New York City, Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Albuquerque and admirable grits in Baltimore. But a few Southern regionalisms still cling to their roots. Shrimp burgers, found in small coastal villages in the Carolinas, are nearly unheard of in upstate Greenville or Charlotte.

But there’s no good reason to make them stay put.

A shrimp burger is simply a cake of shrimp and seasonings served on a bun, with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. Like lobster rolls or crab cakes, shrimp burgers concentrate the sweet essence of shellfish and complement it with semisweet seasonings like parsley, onion and bell peppers.

All shrimp burgers call for cooked shrimp, ground or finely chopped, and for a binding that may include mayonnaise, bread crumbs, eggs, cooked rice or any combination thereof. Like biscuits or gumbo, no two recipes are the same. We’ve had shrimp burgers as smooth and tender as a boiled dumpling, and ones as colorful and chunky as a chef’s salad. Most shrimp burgers are fried, but they bake well, too, if they have enough binding to hold them together.

Beaufort, S.C., is the heart of shrimp burger country. Several restaurants in the area offer them, but the best is found on nearby St. Helena Island, at the Shrimp Shack, a roadside takeout window on stilts, with just a bench and a couple of tables. It’s like dining in a treehouse. The burger is similarly lofty, with a thin, crispy crust enveloping a uniformly pink, slightly spongy cake that unleashes the turbocharged flavor of ocean shrimp. The shrimp come from boats docked directly across the street at a wharf built in the 1940s by the parents of the Shrimp Shack’s owner, Hilda Upton.

The freshest shrimp are essential to a shrimp burger. Since fresh shrimp have more natural moisture and stickiness when ground or chopped, they require less binding than frozen shrimp; you can increase the proportion of shrimp in the burger and it won’t fall apart in the frying pan. Drier frozen shrimp don’t hold together nearly as well and require large doses of breading and mayonnaise to compensate.

You can further boost the amount of shrimp in the burger if you prepare the ground mixture in advance and chill (or even freeze) the patties overnight in plastic wrap, then remove them just before frying. Upton developed the closely guarded Shrimp Shack recipe with Martha Jenkins, another St. Helena Island native, and has been serving shrimp burgers since she opened the Shrimp Shack in 1978. But she’s quick to give credit for the tradition to the local fishermen. “Shrimpers are on the water for days, sometimes weeks,” she said. “Shrimp burgers were something they fixed on the boats, in the galleys.”

SANDWICH

SHRIMP BURGERS

SERVE ON HAMBURGER BUNS WITH LETTUCE, TOMATO AND TARTAR SAUCE.

1 pound shrimp in shells

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

3 tablespoons diced celery

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 cup corn bread crumbs (or bread crumbs)

1 egg, beaten

Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Tabasco sauce, to taste

1 tablespoon peanut oil

Boil shrimp for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, and place ice on top until cool enough to handle. Peel, devein and chop shrimp into small dice. In a large nonreactive bowl, mix shrimp with scallions, celery, parsley and lemon zest. Stir in mayonnaise, corn bread crumbs and egg. Beat with a whisk or wooden spoon until evenly distributed. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco.

With your hands, form 6 patties about 3 inches in diameter. Saute, 3 at a time, in peanut oil until both sides are nicely browned. Drain on paper towels. Makes 6 servings.

Per burger (without bun): 200 calories, 45 percent calories from fat, 13 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, .64 gram total fiber, 10 grams total fat, 126 milligrams cholesterol, 309 milligrams sodium.

Recipe adapted from one from Hominy Grill, Charleston, S.C.