We all know that beef burgers are delicious, but what if you wanted to move away from the regular beef option and make a lighter burger out of fish meat instead? In particular, we’re talking about salmon meat.
Salmon burgers are a great choice for burgers due to their moist and absolutely flavorful taste and texture. You’re basically eating an already delicious salmon steak that’s been deconstructed and turned into a burger patty packed with seasoning and placed between two soft burger buns – pretty cool, if you ask me! Plus, they can be made in advance to prepare for a quick dinner option for the coming nights ahead.
But before you make your salmon burger, you’ll need to create your salmon meat patty first. And one of the simplest ways to do this is to use a food processor to grind up your salmon meat so that you can shape them into patties. But what if you don’t have a food processor? Don’t worry – you can still make handmade salmon burgers with this easy guide.
Ready to create some delicious salmon burger patties without a food processor? Follow these steps below:
- Chop up your salmon steaks
- Add your seasonings
- Use a binding agent
- Coat them in panko
- Cook them to serve
Chop up your salmon steaks
When making salmon burgers, the first thing you’ll want to do is chop up your salmon steaks. Now, with a food processor, all you need to do is stuff your salmon into the food processor and let the grinder inside do the work.
But if you don’t have one, you’re going to want to whip out your trusty kitchen knife, and hand chop your salmon steaks very finely. Make sure your knife is sharp; if you have a dull knife, your chopping process will be very messy, as salmon meat contains lots of fat. Your finished, chopped salmon should be in cubes of less than half an inch tall and wide.
Add your seasonings
The next thing to do is to add flavorings to your chopped salmon meat. Move your chopped salmon meat into a large bowl for mixing. Start by adding a generous amount of salt to your chopped salmon meat, and coat the entire mixture in the bowl to season it throughout. You don’t need to add too much however, as salmon already contains salty flavors naturally.
Next, get your herbs into the chopped mix – I like to use parsley, chives, ground coriander seed, and some lemon zest to really maximize the flavor profile of salmon meat in the patty. Use your hands and mix the entire bowl up together, and you’ll start to feel the consistency of your chopped salmon and flavorings turn more burger-patty-like.
Use a binding agent
A starchy filler, such as egg and breadcrumbs, will help to hold the entire patty together. These add density to the salmon patties, absorb the salmon fat, and hold the entire patty together once they are formed.
Add egg and breadcrumbs into your salmon meat bowl, and use your hands to form them into patties. Now, the consistency in your hands will feel almost slimy like, and if I’m being honest, it’s true that forming salmon meat burger patties is definitely harder than forming ground beef patties, which hold their shape a lot better due to their texture.
So if you feel like your salmon burger patties are breaking up too much, add more breadcrumbs little by little and form them into patties gently – have some patience when doing this!
Coat them in panko
Panko is an awesome coating for the best salmon burger patties – they are light enough to create a crispy crust on your salmon burgers, while dense enough to keep a protective layer around your salmon burgers from falling apart or burning while they are cooking.
Cook them to serve
Cook your salmon patties until they are golden brown, flipping them once during the process. When cooking salmon burgers, you’ll want to ensure that your salmon burger patties reach an internal temperature of 145ºF, which is the safest temperature for cooked salmon to be consumed. Use a meat thermometer to do this while your salmon burgers cook in your skillet.
Once cooked on both sides, take them out and serve between two soft burger buns and relish or veggies of your choice for the ultimate homemade salmon burger experience!
Should I use fresh salmon or canned salmon?
When it comes to making salmon burger patties, you can use either fresh or canned salmon. The only difference between the two choices is that canned salmon usually tastes a lot fishier than fresh salmon. If you’re using canned salmon, consider cutting back on the salt during the mixing process.
Fresh salmon almost always tastes better when made into salmon burger patties.
Are food processor or handmade salmon burgers better?
No doubt, food processor salmon burgers are much easier to make, as the machine grinder turns your salmon patties into a kind of paté that is so much better to form into patties due to its consistency and texture.
But the truth is, I prefer chopped handmade salmon burgers over food processor salmon burgers. Why? Because handmade, knife-chopped salmon burgers still maintain a kind of delicate consistency when cooked – almost like biting into little miniature salmon steaks that are breaded with awesome panko and drenched in my relish of choice.
Food processor burgers tend to be of a very springy consistency that is almost rubbery when cooked. However – they definitely cut the prep time in half. Honestly, it’s all a matter of whether you prefer taste and texture, over prep time!
Conclusion
So, there it is – how you can make easy salmon burgers without a food processor at hand.
Although food processors truly make preparing salmon burger patties (or any other kind of food for that matter) a breeze, the process of chopping up your salmon meat, mixing everything up by hand, and forming the patties with love will definitely allow you to make some seriously tasty salmon burgers for you or your loved ones every single time!
Photo altered by simplelifesaver.com | Photo attribution: roam in color
