Salmon Burgers

I had a rare "kid-free" day yesterday and almost didn't know what to with myself.  Except for the fact that I had a million errands to run, which actually was pretty painless without an antsy, grabby, two- year- old in tow.  And in the afternoon I got to spend time with friends, and amidst our gabbing, time got away from me.  Before I knew it, it was 5:45 and I got a text from the hubby along the lines of, "What's for dinner, AJ's hungry."  Eh.  So I raced home, put a bunch of stuff in the food processor, and dinner was served.  (That's the abbreviated version, but truly, it was that easy.)  My point being, this is another super quick and easy meal to put together.

More backgound info... in my attempt to incorporate more fresh fish into our diet, I've been doing a little experimenting. We're not usually big salmon lovers in my house, mainly because it has a stronger fish flavor than we like, but I really wanted to find a way to make it because it's generally pretty easy to cook with, and it has so many health benefits.  Our grocery store had some beautiful Alaskan wild salmon priced decently this week ( a little over $4 for 1/2 pound)  so I bought a pound and decided to try to make salmon burgers.  

I browsed the internet for the best recipe for salmon burgers, and adapated my own from what I found.  I based it off of one I liked the best, from Serious Eats Recipes, which originally came from Bitten. 

I realized as I was getting all the ingredients out that I had run out of breadcrumbs and forgotten to pick more up at the store.  In my typical fashion, I scourged the pantry for a substitute and found a sleeve of Carr's Water Crackers, Herb flavor.  I tossed them in the food processor, et voila... perfect breadcrumbs!

After all was said and done, I loved these burgers and found the flavor not to be too strong.  The lemon/parsley/mayo is a must, so do make it.  It adds a great tangyness.  I also am hooked on the Punalu'u sweetbread hamburger buns (mainlanders, it's like King's Hawaiian rolls, hamburger bun style!) and these add a nice balance of sweetness.  I served the burgers with baked sweet potatoes.

Enjoy!

Salmon Burgers

 Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless salmon fillets
• 2 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1/2 white or yellow onion
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil

For Mayo

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 bunch of chopped parsley
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

1. Cut the salmon into large peices and place in food processor, along with dijon mustard and onion.  Process until the mixture becomes pasty, scraping down the sides as necessary.  (Think of ground beef consistency)
2. Turn out the mixture into a bowl and mix with breadcrumbs by hand.  Season with salt and pepper and shape into four patties.
3. Heat oil in skillet on medium high.  Once the skillet is hot, place patties inside and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until patties feel firm in the middle.
4. Stir together the mayo, lemon juice and parsley and serve burgers on a bun.