Salmon Burgers
Updated Jan. 30, 2025
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½pounds skinless, boneless salmon
- 2teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
- ½cup coarse bread crumbs
- 1tablespoon capers, drained
- Salt and black pepper
- 2tablespoons butter or olive oil
- Lemon wedges
- Tabasco sauce
Preparation
- Step 1
Cut the salmon into large chunks, and put about a quarter of it into the container of a food processor, along with the mustard. Turn the machine on, and let it run — stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary — until the mixture becomes pasty.
- Step 2
Add the shallots and the remaining salmon, and pulse the machine on and off until the fish is chopped and well combined with the puree. No piece should be larger than a ¼ inch or so; be careful not make the mixture too fine.
- Step 3
Scrape the mixture into a bowl, and by hand, stir in the bread crumbs, capers and some salt and pepper. Shape into four burgers. (You can cover and refrigerate the burgers for a few hours at this point.)
- Step 4
Place the butter or oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet, and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter foam subsides or the oil is hot, cook the burgers for 2 to 3 minutes a side, turning once. Alternatively, you can grill them: Let them firm up on the first side, grilling about 4 minutes, before turning over and finishing for just another minute or two. To check for doneness, make a small cut and peek inside. Be careful not to overcook. Serve on a bed of greens or on buns or by themselves, with lemon wedges and Tabasco or any dressing you like.
Private Notes
Comments
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.
Really good and simple recipe. Used a Costo salmon so did not cost more than hamburger and far better than frozen hockey puck patties from the freezer isle. Might try in the smoker next time to make smoked salmon burgers for even more flavor.
Ask your fishmonger for belly scraps. They’re much more flavorful and contains good oil resulting in a moist patty.
Very tasty, but my spouse said this was the waste of a good salmon filet. Make sure to remove skin and the bones. I took well more than the 20 minutes listed as total time. The end result was a tasty meal. I have made salmon patties with canned salmon with good results, but not as tasty as this recipe.