Salmon Burgers Recipe (2024)

Blitzing fresh wild salmon in a food processor and turning it into a patty seems like a waste to me. Frozen salmon fillets, or even good-quality canned salmon, would be a more appropriate choice.

@ Nancy Cox
You probably used hot water to wash out the Cuisinart bowl. When washing out a piece of equipment used with a protein (especially fish / seafood in my experience), use a lot of liquid soap in COLD water for the first wash. I wipe that out with a paper towel, then rinse well and wash again...this time using HOT water with a little soap. Perfectly clean bowls, beaters, processor blades, meat grinder blades, etc., every time, with no odor.

To me, the only reason to grind up a piece of fresh salmon to make burgers out of it, is to add interesting flavors. I usually go in a SE Asian direction, grinding the fish with fresh ginger, lemon grass, scallions, lime zest, and cilantro and seasoning with salt and white pepper. I use panko and egg white as a binder, and cook on a charcoal grill. And serve on a bun with grilled sweet onion and wasabi-ginger-lime mayonnaise.

This is another of Mr. Bittman's empowering recipes that lends itself to variations. Start with the fish types. Many fishmongers sell fish trimmings (odd chunks left when they butcher their fish). Salmon, halibut, tuna and snapper, mixed, and at a good price, makes a delicious fish burger. Add olive oil (2 T/lb fish) when you're chopping it up (less likely to dry out). Then play with the spices. Try middle eastern spicing, such as ras el hanout and preserved lemon, for example.

Good recipe and a modified version works well with canned sockeye or other salmon.

My brother prepared these when I visited him in Alaska a couple of weeks ago. He used fresh wild salmon--pretty much right off the boat--and served them with a beautiful dill sauce made with yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, and of course plenty of fresh dill. Absolutely to die for.

Makes an excellent burger. If you have time, chop the salmon by hand for a better texture.

I use two cans of Costco wild salmon. Along with the listed items I Add a little mayo and a tablespoon of son of Italy chopped hot pepper and some caper liquid. I use onion and garlic cooked till very soft instead of shallots. Definitely Chill before frying

Resolved to buy 2 lbs of salmon next time - patties freeze well and make an easy weekday dinner. Ditto on smaller scallion pieces.

These Salmon Burgers are spectacular. HIGHLY recommend only using wild salmon to make these, when wild salmon goes on sale we usually buy & freeze several fillets. Made exactly per recipe once; also added a few chopped scallions which was nice; next time used Panko bread crumbs which was also a nice variation. I don't think I'll ever buy pre-made Salmon Burgers again!

A+ "burger". Hand cubing the Sockeye is a gentler way of preparing such a fine fish. I threw a handful of cubes into the blender when making the binder, adding an egg. Additionally, I added the zest of one lemon into the breadcrumbs. One day in the fridge and these firmed up perfectly. Served on a French bun with a sauce. (Saute ginger, shallot, and spicy peppers in 3 Tbs. butter. After 3 min. I added 3 Tbs. of low-salt soy sauce and 3 Tbs. of Sesame oil, then blended to a paste.)

My mother made these with canned salmon; she used pink and I now used canned red or inexpensive fresh wild; frozen is fine. I use an egg with the canned salmon and all the juice in the can. Bread crumbs or matzoh meal. Horseradish cream sauce is good with it; melt a bit of butter, saute with flour and milk; then add some horseradish.

My non-stick skillet is iron, a wedding present in 1969! Never use Teflon.

Used this recipe for some frozen salmon filets we had since defrosting them usually is a lesson in disappointment-- these burgers, however, were anything but. Easy and tasty, I cooked on the longer side to build up a nice buttery crust. We served with a very simple lemon aioli on a bed of lightly dressed greens-- was a hit.

The ingredients bind together better if you put the patties in the freezer for about 15 minutes before cooking.

Best salmon burgers I’ve had! I roasted them at 425F for 12 minutes and they were moist and tasty.

I've made this recipe many times using coho salmon - usually the tail halves of fillets. I pretty much follow the recipe other than finely chopping the shallots before the final pulsing. I also add more capers to my taste. Where I differ mainly is that I make 6 patties instead of the 4 in the recipe. I found the thicker patties ungainly when making "burgers" which is how we prefer them served on burger buns. I freeze the leftover burgers - cooked - and WARM them for reuse.

QUESTION -If you could use canned salmon could you use canned tuna?Any thoughts?

Can you use canned salmon? If so, how would you change in the recipe and steps?

Very tasty when made as directed. I made them smaller to fit on small pretzel buns. Delicious!

I regularly buy 2lbs. salmon trim, make these patties in a food processor, freeze them flat, and then package in a freezer container. That amount makes about 10 medium patties that thaw quickly and are a delicious meal to have on hand! I like homemade aioli or Stonewall Kitchen’s Sriracha Aioli with this on dressed greens.

Very good. Added 1/2 cup of fresh dill

The flavor set in this recipe is terrific! I did add an egg, in part because I was using leftover gluten-free matzoh meal as the breading and wanted the moisture and lightness. That worked just fine. I had a lemony potato salad that went beautifully with it. Another wonderful Mark Bittman addition to my life!

Sauce of Greek yogurt, sour cream, fresh dill, chopped capers, lemon zest, lemon juice salt and pepperWhole wheat buns Lettuce and red onion

As an Alaskan with an abundance of salmon, my family tires of it. So I’ve devised multiple riffs on this recipe. I have subbed white miso paste, scallions and coco aminos to turn this into an umami bomb. Shape into flatish meatballs and broil, serve on Hawaiian rolls as a slider with asian salad. For a Mediterranean twist; I use chopped artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and garlic sautéed spinach. Broil and serve with tabouli. Sauté a sample to ensure seasoning is perfect.

GP, all good p283

Process shallots, then salmon in second step. Don’t over process. Serve with tartar sauce.

I try to never use nonstick pans, especially Teflon -- but they're all not-good for you.