BBQ Salmon Burgers.
You know… I’m not really a pack rat. It’s one of the few traits I’m thrilled that I didn’t inherit from my mom and Mother Lovett, and I can easily pitch old birthday cards or baby dolls or whatever. I mean, sure… more often than not our house appears to be a cluttered disaster, but that’s not because I don’t WANT to throw things out. I’m just lazy.
I wish my husband shared these same sentiments but since he still has a pair of shoes from 1987 (um hello, I was like 5) in his closet along with a shrine to Sarah Michelle Gellar, that framed and autographed picture of Chris Benoit and nearly 400 CDs… I don’t think he does.
And after I flipped my lid when he attempted to throw away four packets of soy and duck sauce from takeout Chinese that had been sitting in that spot in the fridge where stuff falls out of EVERY TIME THE DOOR OPENS… I had a realization. I may not be a pack rat about most things, but when it comes to the fridge? I’m a freaking maniac.
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m so in love with every drop of food that crosses my path (I’m looking at you beer risotto) or because I just totally despise wasting anything edible, but I keep things in the fridge past the point of death. And yeah, sometimes it’s just about being lazy but, uh most of the time it’s just… me. Oh and we should probably get one thing straight: that IS one of the unfortunate traits I inherited, given that last month my dad threw away over 10 boxes of expired Duncan Hines cake mix then watched my mom go and retrieve it from the trash. Ew? And WHYYYYY!!!?
This really came to a head two weeks ago when Mr. How Sweet rushed into the house in his normal, everyday manic I’m-so-hungry-I’m-gonna-!DIE! mode and proceeded to throw every item out of our freezer in search for something meat-like. Out came a half-sealed bag of frozen, breaded cod, which I certainly did not buy… and that expired in June of 2010. Next came the salmon burgers, also which I did not buy… that expired in January 2011. He wasn’t happy about that one because as it turns out, he really wanted a salmon burger. And did I think he could still eat one? Because I mean, they are like encased in a good inch of tasty freezer ice. That has to preserve SOMETHING.
But no… I did not think he should eat one. Instead, he made some sort of frozen beef patty things which were disgusting, but I saved the day with homemade salmon burgers 24 hours later. I used my grandma’s crab cake recipe as a base and went from there, praying for a non-fishy burger with lots of flavor. His hunger was rewarded.
Oh and FYI? That was last Monday and there is still a salmon burger in the fridge.
Old habits die hard.
BBQ Salmon Burgers
[adapted from simple, light crab cakes]
makes 4 burgers
1 pound fresh, raw salmon (skinless or skin removed)
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons bbq sauce
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 whole wheat buns
Add salmon to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it’s somewhat ground.
Remove and add salmon to a bowl with remaining ingredients (except for buns!) and mix with a spoon until just combined. Form into 4 equally-sized burgers. Heat a skillet (or grill) over medium-high heat and cook burgers on each side until golden – about 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve with additional BBQ sauce, lettuce and red onion for topping.
I’m so tan! Right?
106 Comments on “BBQ Salmon Burgers.”
YUM! Salmon burgers are so delicious…although I will admit that I have actually never made them myself. But does it surprise me that you did? No. I will go hang my head in shame now and try to avoid the Costco bag of frozen Salmon patties staring at my in the freezer.
Drooling in front of the screen.. The last photo is haunting!
I’m the same way with my refrigerator/freezer- then one day it crapped out on me! All contents went bad, I had to throw it all away, and I couldn’t afford to buy all that stuff new. So, my fridge will take time to get back to pack rat status :)
I’ve got some salmon sitting in my fridge and was stuck for what to do with it. Now I know! I’ve never made salmon burgers before, but the BBQ sauce and cheese additions sound too interesting not to try. Thanks for sharing!
Yum! These look amazing. What kind of rolls did you use, they look perfect! I never had or made salmon patties, and you have inspired me so much, I should give these a try!!
I just used some whole grain buns from my grocery store’s bakery!
This looks so fantastic! I LOOOOVE salmon but have never made salmon burgers.
Quick question: Do you have to make sure the burger is cooked through, or can you make it medium-ish, the way you would a salmon fillet?
First time commenting, and it’s to ask a question…oops. I adore your blog! :)
Totally your preference – I cook them until opaque and cooked through but that is just how we like them.
GAH I LOVE SALMON. These look so good!
these look seriously insane…and the whole time you’re talking about Mr. How Sweet being so hungry he’s gonna die i’m picturing the little girl from Despicable Me saying “IT’S SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE!!!!”
it’s the little things :)
This definitely needs to happen!
These sound so amazing! I love salmon burgers and am longing so badly for weather nice enough to fire up the BBQ again. In the meantime, I’m using the skillet method because I’m too lazy to clean the George Foreman (which, let’s be real, doesn’t grill the same as a real grill anyway, right?) Great photos Jess! :)
We *will* be making these! We eat as clean as possible during the week (for me that can be a stretch), and salmon is in our very limited weekday meal repertoire–I’m always trying to come up with new ways to eat it. We used to eat salmon burgers often when we first got married, but they weren’t homemade. What’s most amazing is that these are something Grant would love. I love reading your posts, Jessica–your writing always makes happy! Loving you. :)
I am crazy about salmon, in sushi, grilled or in a burger form even better, I never tried making my own, but this will change soon, I hope at least! I don’t let my husband to throw anything from the fringe, it is MY territory! :)
I eat salmon burgers all the time and for some reason I never thought to make them myself. I think I’ll rectify that soon thanks to you!
Once again you made me laugh this morning! This looks so delicious, Jessica. Due to allergies I can’t eat crab, but I can eat (and absolutely love) salmon! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
These look and sound amazing! I was just wondering what to make for dinner tonight and now I know! Is the skin left on the salmon when you put it in the food processor?
Nope – remove the skin before!
Wasting food is probably my number one pet peeve. I mean, I even keep the tupperware thingys that the chinese food comes in and then use them to store all the extra food in our fridge until it starts to grow mold. Unfortunate.
Seeing as Lent starts today AND I’m going pescatarian, this will be early on my list of “to make”. Hooray!
My mom is the ultimate pack rat and I unfortunately inherited some of that trait. I can part with clothes and such but when it comes to my kitchen it’s hard. My parents have bins upon bins of clothes in their basement because every time I try to get rid of stuff thats where it ends up. Every time I tell my mom I’m thinking about getting something it somehow magically appears in the cabinets from like 1970 because we never use it. I also must confess to baking expired Ghirardelli shortbread from a box mix as well as buckeyes… It’s an unfortunate habit from my father who just cuts off the moldy part and says it’s still good. O.o
I will definitely be trying these burgers! Maybe i’ll force fed them too my boyfriend (he hates fish)
Are you my sister?
Long lost twins??? (A few years apart in age… It works, right?)
Perfect fish recipe for the start of Lent! While I’m not a pack rat in my fridge, I most certainly have a problem getting rid of old clothes!! I need a major closet clean out ASAP! Looking forward to making your bbq salmon burgers sometime soon!
I LOVE me some salmon! We’re fortunate enough to have a guy at my work that used to be a chef so he surprises us with leftovers. He brought in salmon patties made with smoked salmon, green peppers, and a whole bunch of other goodies. So delicious! My canned salmon and crushed Ritz crackers with caesar dressing and lemon pepper doesn’t hold a candle to this guy’s recipe! This one looks just as appetizing! Thank God for new recipes during Lent! Spaghetti and pizza get old.
Okay those sound like 5 million times better than these.
Smoked salmon: the bacon of fish.
This is definitely going to be dinner this week! I have been craving salmon in some sort of form other than just baked or pan seared and haven’t had the time to cure or smoke my own (or convince my husband to do it) so this will definitely change it up!.
I’m also a total pack rat with my fridge and it drives my chef husband crazy.
Smoked…OMG the best.
I am right there with you Jessica. I tend to hold onto some weird things in my fridge, but I am also that way with my t-shirts, you never know when you’ll need a neon green stripped tank top!
Either way, I have been dying to attempt to make a salmon burger, and this recipe looks delish. I will have to give it a try!
First of all, these look fantastic.
Second of all, I just read your Mother Lovett: Prologue post! I don’t know how I’ve missed it up until this point but I loved it so much! She seems like such a great person – just someone you would kill to get to know and spend time with.
PS – True story – someone in my high school’s mom divorced her dad and married her uncle (his brother). this is the ONLY other time I’ve ever heard of that happening! (Other than in an Everwood episode but I’m trying my best to stick to real life)
Hahahah WOW!
Your photographs are just stunning!!
Thank you!
“I mean, sure… more often than not our house appears to be a cluttered disaster, but that’s not because I don’t WANT to throw things out. I’m just lazy.” – Hi, welcome to my life. Glad I am not alone.
This looks delicious! And I am the same way about food…cannot throw it away. And my husband, unlike yours, doesn’t like leftovers. This means most of my meals and snacks consist of random combinations of leftovers from the fridge, of which I force myself to eat so much I lapse into food comas all the time. For the sake of unwasted food.
Everytime I walk into the grocery store they have salmon burgers. Not sure why I always notice them but I feel that they want me to eat them so bad. Thanks for making some because now I have that extra little push.
I don’t own a food processor can you buy ground salmon? or would canned salmon work at all?
I’ve never seen it available to buy, and I’m assuming canned salmon would work but honestly have never even tried that before so I’m not sure exactly how to use it. I’m wondering if when you bought the salmon you could ask the butcher (or person at the counter) to grind it for you?
Hah! My husband give me a hard time about having too many condiments in the fridge. He doesn’t know that I actually use them in his food.
Love the sound of these – I like BBQ sauce on anything but I’ve never attempted salmon burgers!
Yet another thing in life we are eerily too similar in. Also passed down from my mother who had a roast in her freezer from 2006 that I discovered last month! It was barely recognizable as meat.
I eat expired stuff and leftover waaaay past their prime all the time solely b/c I cannot bring myself to throw things out. Somehow I’ve never gotten sick (knock on wood) even when I’m literally cutting mold off of the outside of cheese and eating it anyway. It’s sick, I know.
I just died.
I’m the SAME WAY!
I’ll throw away a sentimental card after re-reading it once, but I have a package of rye flour from a year ago in my fridge that I refuse to trash. It’s conveniently stuck to the bottle of pomegranate molasses, which you know I’m not throwing that out, so I may as well keep the flour too. My cabinets and freezer are the worst. Pack.rat. But my house? Organized, decluttered, and clean. Weird.
love ya
xo
Oh man, old habits do die hard! I can relate with the “I hate to waste food” trait. Of course, the expiration date is just a guideline in my opinion. It depends on what the food item is, and how long it has been “expired”. Dry goods like the cake mix that expired last month…I might add a teaspoon of baking powder and a teaspoon of vanilla extract and bake a cake! I use all my senses to determine whether or not it’s still good…and usually fresh dairy/meat/eggs I will chuck but every thing else I scrutinize before proceeding.
Freezer purging now and again is a good thing. I have a bunch of vacuum sealed yellow squash from our garden in 2008 that we’ll never eat in our chest freezer. That stuff will probably last until the next ice age…
So cool! Homemade salmon patties! Thank YOU! Those cardboard ones are so gross. I can’t even cook them, much less eat them. BTW, I am the total opposite of you with the whole fridge thing. My motto: If in doubt, throw it out. I mean, like, weekly. Like there is a 7 day shelf-life of pretty much everything in my fridge. AND if I have to pick up those STUPID, FREAKIN BBQ & Arby’s sauce packets that my spouse MIGHT use one day off the floor again, I’m gonna … I’m gonna … well, just wait and see what I do!!
I absolutely love salmon burger. I make a mean citrus dill salmon burger, it is so fresh and yummy! Luckily I do not have the hoarding in the fridge curse, although there are a few times I have gotten frustrated for throwing something out that I needed a couple days later…seriously, maybe I should keep things in the fridge a little longer!
MANGIA!!!
This looks SO good Jessica! I may be throwing a few more salmon burgers along with beef on the grill this summer… Mmmm.
My sister made up a Maple Salmon Burger with a Rosemary Aioli that really knocked my socks off. Your burger sounds amazing. Maybe we should have a salmon burger-off! http://www.twin-tables.com/2009/09/build-better-bbq-salmon-burgers-w.html. And to add to your obsession, I will not throw ANYTHING out of my fridge. My blog is littered with amazing dishes that came out of leftovers. I love wasting nothing!
That burger and that SAUCE….looks fabulous. I am such a condiment pack rat…I could get you a jar of 17 varieties of salsa, chutney, simmer sauce, mustard, ketchup, etc…and that’s just on one shelf. We haven’t talked about the door of the fridge yet or what’s in the cupboard :)
I have a few cans of salmon sitting under the sink that I need to use in something, and this looks just right! I’ve made salmon croquettes several times and always love them, but this will be a nice twist.
Good God, my fridge is the exact same way. I try and stay on top of things but I’m pretty sure there’s food in there that has grown legs and is crawling around. Needless to say having a cooking blog and cooking for one does not make for the best combo.
Too funny! My fridge/freezer has the same issue as yours (okay, or I have the same issue as you). Not good. These salmon burgers looks fantastic. These would be the perfect meal for my family this weekend.
omg sooooo so so good. Thank you!
Also I’ve begun hoarding food items as well. Blueberry scones, guacamole, buttermilk for fluffy panckakes… HELP ME
These look insanely awesome!
This doesn’t apply to the delish salmon burger, buuuuut are you aware that there are other flavors of marshmallow fluff out there? Strawberry and raspberry. In case you needed a reason for making something s’mores related….
http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/fluff.html
I love salmon burgers. This is a really delicious spin to it! YUM!
You should see my pantry aka linen closet but I could not care less for a linen closet, so pantry it became. I am obsessed with spices and more than once I had to create a dinner to incorporate a certain spice lol. Don’t get me started on fridge or freezer lol.
I’ve never had a salmon burger! Looks delicious.
We keep stuff waaaaaay too long too. Moving helped me out but I found some stuff that I didn’t really want to see. These burgers sound outa this world.