Salmon Burgers

Updated Jan. 30, 2025

Salmon Burgers
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(4,844)
Comments
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For this recipe, you’ll want to grind part of the salmon in a food processor: It’ll bind the rest, which can be coarsely chopped to retain moisture during cooking. Some bread crumbs keep the burger from becoming as densely packed as (bad) meatloaf. This approach, along with a few simple seasonings, produces delicious burgers in not much more time than it takes to make one from ground chuck. The only real trick is to avoid overcooking. Whether you sauté, broil or grill this burger, it's best when the center remains the color of … salmon. Two or three minutes a side usually does the trick.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • pounds skinless, boneless salmon
  • 2teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • ½cup coarse bread crumbs
  • 1tablespoon capers, drained
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2tablespoons butter or olive oil
  • Lemon wedges
  • Tabasco sauce
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

493 calories; 30 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 544 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut the salmon into large chunks, and put about a quarter of it into the container of a food processor, along with the mustard. Turn the machine on, and let it run — stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary — until the mixture becomes pasty.

  2. Step 2

    Add the shallots and the remaining salmon, and pulse the machine on and off until the fish is chopped and well combined with the puree. No piece should be larger than a ¼ inch or so; be careful not make the mixture too fine.

  3. Step 3

    Scrape the mixture into a bowl, and by hand, stir in the bread crumbs, capers and some salt and pepper. Shape into four burgers. (You can cover and refrigerate the burgers for a few hours at this point.)

  4. Step 4

    Place the butter or oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet, and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter foam subsides or the oil is hot, cook the burgers for 2 to 3 minutes a side, turning once. Alternatively, you can grill them: Let them firm up on the first side, grilling about 4 minutes, before turning over and finishing for just another minute or two. To check for doneness, make a small cut and peek inside. Be careful not to overcook. Serve on a bed of greens or on buns or by themselves, with lemon wedges and Tabasco or any dressing you like.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
4,844 user ratings
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Comments

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.

I made the breadcrumbs from day-old stale garlic bread. The additional toasted garlic put this over the top. One of my favorite ways to eat salmon.

Followed the recipe. Next time I would chop the shallots into smaller dice. Made patties into slider size, refrigerated and cooked on the stove. Used thawed wild salmon and removed the skin with the boiling water method. Served on brioche buns with red onion, avocado and sriracha mayonnaise. Big hit.

We usually have frozen salmon burgers for our beach month and they are fine but I decided to try to make my own with this recipe as a jumping off point. I have made 4 lbs at a time and made 4 1/2 ounce burgers and vacuum packed them and stashed in the freezer. Brilliant for quick dinner - defrost quickly in the fridge during the day (they don’t need an overnight defrost) and with a salad and a veggie and a bun (diet permitting) they make a great mid week dinner. Highly recommend

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