Salmon Burgers

How many of you have the "safe to eat" seafood list memorized? Yeah, me neither. That's why I love the pocket seafood selector (third item at the top) from Ocean's Alive. Usually, I try to avoid thinking about all the ways in which we humans have trashed our world (otherwise I'd never come out from under my bed), but when it comes to eating fish, I'd rather not poison myself with mercury or further deplete scarce resources. Luckily, wild Alaskan salmon is on the "okay" list, but watch out for Atlantic salmon which comes from pollution-prone fish farms.

These salmon burgers are the best damn thing I've cooked in awhile. Next time, I may consider adding some breadcrumbs and/or lightly-beaten egg to stabilize them a bit, but I don't think it's necessary. I served them on crusty rolls with horseradish mustard, sauteed shiitakes, and finely diced mango on top. Sweet potato fries rounded out the menu. Apologies for the horrible photo--it was late and I was hungry!

Salmon Burgers
adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, Feb/March 2004

1 lb salmon fillet, cut into chunks
1 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Put the salmon chunks in a food processor and pulse until you've got a big pile o' pink mush, the approximate consistency of ground beef. In a large bowl combine the ground salmon with the ginger, soy sauce, scallions, bell pepper, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Form the meat into three or four patties.

Heat 1 tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the salmon patties and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side for rare. If you want them well done, that's your own problem--I don't recommend it! I do, however, highly recommend some finely diced mango on top of the final product.

top salmon photo by adactio