The basic rule for salmon burgers is the same as for any well-crafted beef burger—make it thick and juicy. But since salmon is more delicately flavoured than beef, there’s plenty of room for enhancement. Your burger will benefit from some of the same
ingredients traditionally added to fishcakes—herbs and spices will punch up the mild-tasting flesh, sour cream will add a layer of unctuousness and Dijon mustard will give it some tang.
Don’t stop there. Bejewel your finished patty with as much luscious bling as you can fit onto the bun.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound fresh salmon fillet (skin-on if you want to make salmon-skin bacon, which, by the way, is a tasty and nifty zero-waste exercise; see sidebar). Avoid previously frozen salmon at all costs, as it tends to break down into an undesirable mush when pulsed in the food processor
1 poblano chili or 1 jalapeño chili
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄2 red bell pepper, trimmed and diced
2 tablespoons sour cream or mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1⁄4 cup cilantro, roughly stemmed
1⁄4 cup breadcrumbs or panko
Zest from one lemon
4 airy burger buns (ideally brioche)
4 tablespoons homemade aioli (see recipe) or store-bought mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons dill, chopped finely
1 ripe avocado
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
DIRECTIONS:
Using a sharp knife, remove skin from salmon. Reserve skin if you are making salmon-skin bacon. Remove any pin bones from the salmon, then roughly cut salmon into 1⁄2-inch cubes. Reserve.
Blacken poblano over a gas burner or BBQ. Put it in a bag for 5 minutes, then peel off and discard the skin along with the seeds and stem. Reserve.
Add egg, green onion, garlic, poblano, bell pepper, sour cream, Dijon, cilantro, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper to a food processor. Pulse four or five times. Add salmon and pulse another 4 or 5 times or until coarsely chopped and blended with the other ingredients, but well before the point it turns to mush. If you don’t have a food processor, chop salmon into tiny pieces, then blend with all the aforementioned ingredients in a bowl. Form salmon mixture into 4 patties. Reserve.
In a small bowl, blend aioli or mayo with dill. Reserve.
In a medium bowl, use a fork to mash avocado. Add a pinch of salt and lemon juice. Blend and reserve.
If buns are too thick or too dense, pull a little bread from the centre of the top half, or slice a bit off from one or both of the cut sides. While patties are cooking, brush buns with oil and toast, cut-side down, in a pan or on a grill until cut side is lightly browned.
To grill Preheat grill to direct medium-high heat. Grill for burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side with the lid down, or until the centres are no longer translucent.
To pan cook Add 1 tablespoon oil to a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook, loosely covered, for about 4 minutes per side, or until the outsides are crusty and the centres are no longer translucent.
To serve Schmear bottom bun with aioli, and top bun with avocado.
Cooking Time: Less than 15 minutes Yield 4 generous burgers
Advance work: Aioli can be made up to a day in advance. Patties can be made up to a day in advance
Plan-overs: Patties freeze well and will last in airtight wrapping for up to 6 months
Liquidity: It’s hard not to “like” a Cru Beaujolais—sometimes considered the poor man’s Burgundy—with this burger.
