Hoisin Salmon Burgers

Admittedly, salmon burgers are not new chez Chef Juje.

We’ve always bought them boxed and frozen simply because I didn’t really realize that they could be made from scratch.  I suppose my creativity is a bit limited sometimes.

As it turns out,  salmon burgers are super easy to make.  Just take salmon, cut into 1″ chunks and grind in a food processor.  Add all the extras you want and then pan fry or bake.

This recipe is a hybrid of two similar hoisin salmon burger recipes I found from Cooking Light and Steamy Kitchen. I liked mixing the hoisin into the actual salmon patty itself as it makes the patty moist; covering the patty with panko adds a nice crust to the burger as well. However, be careful pan frying the more delicate panko as it can burn.

Salmon burger sans bun with peach salsa.

Ingredients:
1 lb. skinless, boneless salmon (you can get skin-on salmon, but buy maybe 1.25 pounds and then skin)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Cup panko
2 tbsp plus additional 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (found in Asian section of grocery)
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup minced red onions (though green onions work just as well!)

Directions:
1. Cut salmon in 1-inch pieces.

Salmon cut into 1-inch bits.

2. Place 1/3 of the salmon in the food processor and pulse until salmon is in 1/4 inch pieces. Repeat for the second and final thirds of the salmon. You will see that I overprocessed, which made the salmon a little tricky to stick together.

Salmon in food processor. I was victim of over-processing. The bits after processing should be 1/4 inch.

{at which point I stop taking pictures and will cut to the chase}

3. In a small bowl, mix the ginger, garlic, soy, hoisin and egg.
4. In a larger bowl, mix salmon, red onion and 1/4 cup of the panko.
5. Add the wet ingredients from the small bowl into the larger bowl and combine. Kind of like making a giant salmon meatball. (maybe that analogy doesn’t make sense to anyone but me…)
6. Form 4 salmon patties and dredge each patty into the remaining panko.
7. Refrigerate for anywhere between 1-4 hours. I did about 2 and it was plenty.
8. Heat a bit of grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Cook salmon burgers about 3 minutes on each side side or until your desired doneness. You can make small cut in patty to look inside.
9. Brush hoisin sauce on top of each patty and cook additional 30 seconds.
10. Serve on bun with lettuce and tomato. Or plain with peach salsa. Whatever.

Side view of the burgers. You might see this picture again under “peach salsa.”

Get to Know your Salmon Burgers:

Easy Salmon Cakes – Cooks Illustrated goes into considerable detail about different methods of cooking salmon cakes, essential steps to make the process successful, and insight into the salmon’s varying “fishiness.”

Bon Appetit Salmon Burgers – Similar to the recipe presented here. They use a bit of mayo in addition to the other ingredients.

New York Times Recipe of the Day Presents a nice core recipe plus some some nifty additional variations on the salmon burger theme.