RECIPE

The salmon burger might be the pinnacle of burgers

While a meat patty or a plant-based burger can be great, there's something special about a salmon burger

By D. Watkins

Editor at Large

Published January 26, 2024 3:30PM (EST)

Salmon Burger with Red Onion, Lettuce, Tomato and Fries (Getty Images/LauriPatterson)
Salmon Burger with Red Onion, Lettuce, Tomato and Fries (Getty Images/LauriPatterson)

Instead of opting for that delicious 100% all beef patty or choosing a potentially salt-heavy veggie burger option, why not try out this healthy salmon alternative instead?

If there's one thing America does right, it's the burger. It doesn't really matter what town, city or state you are in — as long as it's America, you can find a great burger. I'm sure it's been this way since around 1921, when Edgar “Billy” Ingram and Walter Anderson opened their first White Castle restaurant in Kansas. 

And the ingredients are so simple — a bun, a patty and whatever you choose to add — it's universally delicious, easy to prepare and can make any of us feel like chefs.

Personally, I love Swiss, mushrooms, fried onions, lettuce and tomato on a toasted potato bun. Some love cheddar and bacon, while others enjoy stacking three patties on top of each other for that monster sandwich effect. And all of us are right: You literally cannot go wrong! 

So many people feel like they have to abandon the feeling of biting into a hot burger when they begin their journeys of clean eating, but that could not be further from the truth.


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Beyond meat does make delicious burgers that are low in cholesterol and taste so close to the real thing that it's scary. I enjoy burgers on cheat days, and will eat a Beyond meat burger at a cookout, knowing that my limit is one. But there are also some healthier options as well, for the people who are more extreme, such as delicious salmon burgers (not to be confused with salmon cakes.) 

I am from Baltimore: We eat crab cakes, we don't know anything about salmon cakes; however, salmon burgers are completely different — super delicious and surprisingly, almost too easy to make. They also pair perfectly with a delicious side salad. 

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Salmon burgers
Yields
4 to 6 servings
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes 

Ingredients

2 ½ pounds salmon

4 minced garlic cloves

2 teaspoons garlic powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper

1 egg

½ onion, finely chopped

Burger roll of your choice

Toppings or garnishes of your choosing (cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, etc.)

 

Directions

  1. Remove the skin off of the salmon and discard. 

  2. Chop or blend all of the salmon until super-fine and place into a mixing bowl.

  3. Add all other ingredients (aside from burger roll) into bowl.

  4. Blend all ingredients together. Add salt, if your diet permits.

  5. Form the mixture into 4 to 6 patties.

  6. Grill to the temperature of your liking; I prefer medium.

  7. Serve with your favorite toppings. 


By D. Watkins

D. Watkins is an Editor at Large for Salon. He is also a writer on the HBO limited series "We Own This City" and a professor at the University of Baltimore. Watkins is the author of the award-winning, New York Times best-selling memoirs “The Beast Side: Living  (and Dying) While Black in America”, "The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir," "Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope" as well as "We Speak For Ourselves: How Woke Culture Prohibits Progress." His new books, "Black Boy Smile: A Memoir in Moments," and "The Wire: A Complete Visual History" are out now.

MORE FROM D. Watkins


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