Dinner Tonight: Salmon Burgers
Normally I'm suspicious when it comes to non-beef burgers, since a proper hamburger is such a marvelous culinary pinnacle. Why mess with a good thing? Yet so many preconceived notions have met their doom (see Nick's turkey burger and lamburger in earlier Dinner Tonight entries). I became a salmon burger believer at a restaurant near my old apartment in Brooklyn called Petit Crevette, where they served up not a dry crumbly abomination, but a moist patty that flaked like a fillet on a brioche bun. Saddled with a craving recently, I set out to find a recipe.
I ended up with this Mark Bittman recipe on Bitten, which solves the problem of holding the meat together by totally pureeing 1/4 of the meat into a paste which holds the larger chunks of salmon together. While some recipes call for mayonnaise or an egg to keep the patties intact, I liked this purer salmon-only approach.
The result is a wonderful way to enjoy salmon. Taking the cue from some other recipes I found, I stirred in a little lemon juice and parsley into mayonnaise to create an herby sauce. A perfect match for the rich, flaky burger.
Salmon Burgers
Adapted from Bitten
-serves 4-
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless salmon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 small shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup coarse bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1/3 cup mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 soft hamburger buns
Procedure
1. Cut the salmon into large pieces, and combine 1/4 of the pieces with the mustard in a food processor. Process until the mixture becomes pasty, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the shallots near the end so they are also finely chopped.
2. Add the remaining salmon pieces along with half the parsley, and pulse until the larger pieces are somewhat combined with the mixture, making sure not to over-process. 1/4-inch pieces of salmon should remain; you don't want a complete salmon puree.
3. Turn out the mixture into a bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs by hand. Season with a healthy pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper, and shape into four patties.
4. Heat butter or oil in a large (12-inch) skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is very hot, carefully place the patties inside and cook 2-3 minutes per side, turning once. Alternatively, grill them for the same amount of time, though be careful as the patties are rather fragile.
5. In the meantime, stir the remaining parsley and the lemon juice into the mayonnaise. Serve with the burgers on a bun or a bed of greens.
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16 Comments:
This sounds fantastic! I recently bought a package of salmon burgers from Trader Joe's that unfortunately turned out to be quite dry and blah.
These sound super simple to make, can't wait to try them out!
violetcassis at 4:53PM on 07/16/09
looks yummy!!
I recently made poor man's salmon burgers and they were quite good. mashed up canned salmon + egg + bread crumb + spices (I added curry powder), formed into patties and pan-fried.
hmw0029 at 4:59PM on 07/16/09
This is my go-to pantry meal when I am too tired to do anything else, and I always have the ingredients around. My version is this same recipe, but egg instead of mayo. I use panko for the breadcrumbs, as they are in the pantry at all times. And I serve it with a "tartar" sauce of mayo, relish and sirracha.
Dcarl1 at 5:18PM on 07/16/09
Oh - I should clarify - the reason I say this is a pantry meal is that I NEVER use fresh salmon for it. I use one can of pink salmon instead of fresh. It's cheap, and very tasty.
Dcarl1 at 5:19PM on 07/16/09
I dont think anyone can actually make salmon into a good burger patty. It always comes out dry.
mandarin at 5:55PM on 07/16/09
I love fresh salmon patties-- so moist, so tasty, sooooo delicious.
I like the addition of Dijon in your recipe. Going to give that a try.
Thanks!
CJ McD at 6:40PM on 07/16/09
What a coincidence. I just made salmon burgers for dinner tonight. It was my first attempt at making them. I also used canned salmon, but instead of processing some salmon to hold the patties together, I instead used mashed potato. That's how my mom says she used to make them. My burgers had a good taste, but their texture was a little strange. I'll have to try your recipe some time soon and see if I like it better than mine.
sandn8r9 at 10:05PM on 07/16/09
I too use the pink salmon, an egg and [italian seasoned] bread crumbs - fry in slight oil and bravo! a perfectly moist on the inside, crunch on the outside salmon patty. You definitely do not taste the filler - and mayo is not used because it just is not in my nature to fry mayo in anything.
Easiest thing to make, especially if you use the salmon that is in the smaller cans with no skin/bones to pick out.
I love the mashed potato idea sandn8r9 I am trying that next!!!
SkippyMom at 7:27AM on 07/17/09
i am so making that.
carriebwc at 9:46AM on 07/17/09
crazy, i MADE that last nite! it's been one of our staples since I spotted the recipe in the Times a while back. Fattier salmon works best- i like coho-- atlantic, if you can find non-farm.. sockeye for me, yields too dry a burger.
fetacrackwhore at 11:29AM on 07/17/09
Love seafood burgers. They make you feel better about eating a burger, and they're just as good! :)
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:38PM on 07/17/09
I was raised on this as a kid. It also goes really well with cheese grits and sauteed spinach. I only recently started incorporating mayo into my recipe though but it makes a heck of a difference. I also added crushed red pepper flakes and generous amounts of Old Bay. That's some good eatin' there boy!
rockemsockem007 at 8:07AM on 07/19/09
Love these--my mom used to call them "salmon patties" and we ate them without the bun. Lately, I make them for buns. She used the same basic recipie, but always added finely chopped celery and onion to the canned salmon. An egg, some breadcrumbs (I use panko now that they are readily available), and a little mayo to hold them all together. Without the bun, we didn't care if they fell apart, but with all that they hold together pretty well now. We always cook them in butter--not real good for you but it gives the salmon an even richer flavor. Crisp on the outside, flaky on the inside. Sounds like dinner tonight!
richopp at 11:12AM on 07/27/09
I just got back from fishing in Alaska with about 100lbs of king salmon filets, just not ready to chop it up and and disguise the salmon I'll be doing that after a couple months in the freezer and the freshness fades. For now it's a filet of salmon on sourdough bread a smear of homemade dill aioli and some crisp lettuce nothing more.
On a side note got a 56lb king salmon with white meat it's a bit milder kinda between salmon and halibut in flavor but still loaded with omega-3's and other essential fats and oils, some claim it has more fats and oils but I'll leave that to some anal retentive nutrishionist, to me it tastes good.
shipwreck at 1:48PM on 07/27/09
BTW--I highly doubt anyone is going to find Atlantic salmon that isn't farmed.
InJuneau at 1:51PM on 07/27/09
I'd never bought canned salmon before until this week for this recipe, does it always come with skin and bones?? I thought it would be like tuna. Trying to extricate all the tiny bones was really frustrating and the burgers turned out incredibly dry and bland. Wish I'd used fresh!
Mary_Eats at 8:08PM on 07/29/09