Salmon Burgers

For a couple of weeks now, my local supermarket had a sale on wild caught Keta Salmon. I know that we all should eat more fish and this one is the easiest to cook. There were several things that I made out of the huge fish that I bought. It could not be eaten in one meal and had to be enjoyed in several dishes. My kids generally do not like fish unless it is presented in a way they can take it - burgers! That  is the easiest way to get them to eat fish.

2 lbs fillet of salmon (bones removed)

1 large onion
2 garlic cloves

1/2 bunch Italian parsley
1/2 bunch baby dill
salt and pepper
1 egg

I remove the fillet, reserving skin and bones for stock. In a food processor I pulse one large onion, garlic and small bunch of each Italian parsley and baby dill with salt and pepper. Add an egg to the green mass and then the fillet of salmon. The salmon is cut in small pieces and food processor is pulsed with addition of each piece.It does need to be smooth and uniform, the ground Salmon is chunkier. It should not resemble ground beef and no worries if some small chunks are in there will work out well in the final product. After the mass is well incorporated patties can be formed. If the burgers are to be cooked in a frying pan, then I like giving them a coat of bread crumbs. Wet or oil your hands and shape patties to your preferred size.  It is best to line a container with plastic wrap, as the ground salmon may be sticky and not easy to handle. Another way to create a patty is to scoop enough into the plastic wrap and then twist it into a ball. After untwisting and laying the ball onto another parchment or plastic lined tray push it slightly to give it right burger shape. If they were to be grilled then I place the tray with ready burgers in the freezer for about an hour before the grilling time. The grill must be hot and ready before the burgers go in it. With silicon brush I apply a small amount of oil to the side of the burger that is going on the grill; just enough for them not to get stuck. I reduce the heat from high to medium high. I brush a little more oil in the raw side of the burger and flip them only once. Cooking time will take about 4-5 min on each side. 

Bun or no bun is up to you.

In other version of the salmon patty I substituted fresh herbs with 1 tblsp of Rub with Love , coated with bread crumbs and fried them in the pan.

This ground fish works well in the soup, too.

More on that in my next post.