Salmon Burgers

Blitzing fresh wild salmon in a food processor and turning it into a patty seems like a waste to me. Frozen salmon fillets, or even good-quality canned salmon, would be a more appropriate choice.

@ Nancy Cox
You probably used hot water to wash out the Cuisinart bowl. When washing out a piece of equipment used with a protein (especially fish / seafood in my experience), use a lot of liquid soap in COLD water for the first wash. I wipe that out with a paper towel, then rinse well and wash again...this time using HOT water with a little soap. Perfectly clean bowls, beaters, processor blades, meat grinder blades, etc., every time, with no odor.

To me, the only reason to grind up a piece of fresh salmon to make burgers out of it, is to add interesting flavors. I usually go in a SE Asian direction, grinding the fish with fresh ginger, lemon grass, scallions, lime zest, and cilantro and seasoning with salt and white pepper. I use panko and egg white as a binder, and cook on a charcoal grill. And serve on a bun with grilled sweet onion and wasabi-ginger-lime mayonnaise.

This is another of Mr. Bittman's empowering recipes that lends itself to variations. Start with the fish types. Many fishmongers sell fish trimmings (odd chunks left when they butcher their fish). Salmon, halibut, tuna and snapper, mixed, and at a good price, makes a delicious fish burger. Add olive oil (2 T/lb fish) when you're chopping it up (less likely to dry out). Then play with the spices. Try middle eastern spicing, such as ras el hanout and preserved lemon, for example.

I made these this weekend and my wife loved them. Of course I did small modifications to the recipe: I chopped the shallot in a fine dice, the salmon I chopped into almost 1/4 inch pieces. No capers to I substituted horseradish and Louisiana hot sauce.

Then when I was doing the final mixing my experience spoke to me and said this is just like a meatball, so I added an egg. Then formed the patties with a light hand just like meatballs and biscuits.

They came out very light and tasty.

These burgers are terrific! I didn't add salt because the capers and mustard make the burgers salty enough. I also cooked the burgers slightly longer than 3 minutes per side (they were quite thick). I served them on a slice of toasted French bread...a whole bun is too much bread.

I served them with the following sauce: Mayonnaise, capers, fresh lemon juice, pepper, and tabasco. All ingredients, to taste.

Good recipe and a modified version works well with canned sockeye or other salmon.

My brother prepared these when I visited him in Alaska a couple of weeks ago. He used fresh wild salmon--pretty much right off the boat--and served them with a beautiful dill sauce made with yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, and of course plenty of fresh dill. Absolutely to die for.

Makes an excellent burger. If you have time, chop the salmon by hand for a better texture.

I use two cans of Costco wild salmon. Along with the listed items I Add a little mayo and a tablespoon of son of Italy chopped hot pepper and some caper liquid. I use onion and garlic cooked till very soft instead of shallots. Definitely Chill before frying

Resolved to buy 2 lbs of salmon next time - patties freeze well and make an easy weekday dinner. Ditto on smaller scallion pieces.

A+ "burger". Hand cubing the Sockeye is a gentler way of preparing such a fine fish. I threw a handful of cubes into the blender when making the binder, adding an egg. Additionally, I added the zest of one lemon into the breadcrumbs. One day in the fridge and these firmed up perfectly. Served on a French bun with a sauce. (Saute ginger, shallot, and spicy peppers in 3 Tbs. butter. After 3 min. I added 3 Tbs. of low-salt soy sauce and 3 Tbs. of Sesame oil, then blended to a paste.)

These Salmon Burgers are spectacular. HIGHLY recommend only using wild salmon to make these, when wild salmon goes on sale we usually buy & freeze several fillets. Made exactly per recipe once; also added a few chopped scallions which was nice; next time used Panko bread crumbs which was also a nice variation. I don't think I'll ever buy pre-made Salmon Burgers again!

My mother made these with canned salmon; she used pink and I now used canned red or inexpensive fresh wild; frozen is fine. I use an egg with the canned salmon and all the juice in the can. Bread crumbs or matzoh meal. Horseradish cream sauce is good with it; melt a bit of butter, saute with flour and milk; then add some horseradish.

My non-stick skillet is iron, a wedding present in 1969! Never use Teflon.