Salmon Burger
I use to curl my nose at salmon burgers. Why mash up a delicious piece of fish with a bunch of other ingredients creating what, in my mind, was a mushy, bread crumby, not fresh tasting burger.
I realized all this time, I had been mistaken. A salmon burger with really fresh ingredients that lets the salmon be the star IS fantastic after all. I was just slow to the bandwagon. When I put together this recipe I was particular about not overdoing the portions of the non-salmon ingredients. To prevent the burger from becoming mushy, be gentle when slicing the salmon to keep the meat in large chunks. Don’t be a human meat processor and get carried away.
I recommend using fresh herbs and lemon in the recipe because it does taste better, but you can swap them out for dried/jarred ingredients.
Everything comes together really fast and the burgers cook in about 8 minutes so this works great for busy nights. You can make the patties and the lemon-mayo sauce in advance and store them in the refrigerator to save time.
Salmon Burger Recipe
Makes two sandwiches.
Ingredients
Burgers
- 1 large or 2 small salmon fillets, skin and bones removed (about 1/2 pound)
- 1 Tbsp shallot, minced (about one shallot)
- 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs*
- 1/2 of an egg, whisked (whisk the entire egg; you’ll only use half)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 burger buns
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced**
- 1 large tomato, sliced
Lemon-Mayo Sauce
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Directions
Lemon-Mayo Sauce
- In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp of mayonnaise, 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Salmon Burgers
- Remove the skin from the salmon (if needed). On a plate, slice the salmon thinly (about 1/4 inch). Then cut each slice into small chunks. The salmon should start to fall apart as you handle it.
- Remove the peels from the shallot and 1-2 cloves of garlic and mince both.
- Chop the fresh parsley into 1 Tbsp and oregano into 2 tsp. Substitute dried herbs if you don’t have fresh.
- Add the salmon to a bowl. Add the parsley, oregano and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 Tbsp dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp mayonnaise, pinch of salt and pepper, the chopped garlic and shallot, and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs.
- Crack the egg in a small bowl and whisk with a fork. Add half the egg to the bowl of ingredients.
- Using your hands, gently combine all of ingredients. Don’t mash the ingredients, you don’t want mush. In the bowl, use your hand to divide the mixture into 2 equal portions and shape into patties.
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil in non-stick skillet and use a spatula to ensure an even coat on the pan.
- When heated (drop a droplet of water to the pan and it should sizzle), add the two salmon patties (wet your hands before handling the burgers so the ingredients don’t stick to your hands.)
- Cook the burgers for 4 to 5 minutes on one side. Peek at the underside of the patties to see when they start to brown. Flip the burgers and cook for another 4 minutes. Remove the burgers from the heat.
- Add the buns, open faced, to the skillet to toast each side.
- Serve the burgers on the toasted buns with arugula, sliced tomato, red onion**, and lemon-mayo sauce.
*Homemade Bread Crumbs. Make your own breadcrumbs by pulsing a roll or sandwich bun in a food processor until fine and fluffy. Using a buttery type of roll or sandwich bun makes for a lighter bread crumb that won’t be as dense in your burger. I usually make a batch of rolls or buns into breadcrumbs in advance and store them in the refrigerator.
**Red Onion. If you want to reduce the punch of the red onion, slice the amount you want for your sandwiches and soak in water for about 5 minutes. Remove and pat with a paper towel before adding to your sandwich.
Hone
