Salmon burgers with pineapple and guacamole
Servings: 4 burgers
Ingredients
salmon burgers:
- 1 lb (450g) salmon
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro/coriander
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- zest grated from 1/2 lime
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
guacamole:
- 2 avocado
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro/coriander
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- salt and pepper to taste
additionally:
- 2 tablespoons frying oil
- 4 slices fresh pineapple
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4 leaves lettuce
sweet and sour pineapple sauce:
- 1 cup fresh pineapple chopped into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces, 5oz/135g
- 1.5 tablespoons ketchup
- 1.5 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
- pinch of cayenne pepper or more, to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the salmon burgers:
- Remove the skin and grates from the salmon. Chop it finely either by hand (this is what I prefer) or in a food processor (pulse a couple of times with intervals, stirring the salmon from time to time, making sure it's not chopped too finely).
- Add to a large bowl with all the other ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper and stir until combined. Set aside.
Sweet and sour pineapple sauce:
- Add all the ingredients except from cornstarch to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Transfer the mixture into a small pot.
- Make the cornstarch slurry: in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water until combined. Add to the pot.
- Cook the sauce for a couple of minutes until thickened. It should be just a little too runny when you're taking the pot off the heat. It will thicken while cooling off.
- Season the sauce lightly with salt and pepper.
Make the guacamole:
- Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, scoop out the flesh. Mash the flesh with a fork, add all the other ingredients and stir until combined.
Cook the burgers:
- You can form the patties on a plate and slide them off into the pan with a spatula or what I like to do - form the burgers directly on the pan, because they are quite delicate. I divide the salmon mixture into 4 parts and scoop them with a spoon onto the hot pan and form round patties with a spoon and my fingers directly on the pan. Mine had a diameter of 3.5-inch (9cm)and thickness of a little less than an inch (2cm).
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on a frying pan / grill pan over medium heat. When hot add the salmon patties. Cook over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes or until golden and slightly firm, flip over and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 1 minute. The cooking time will depend on type of the pan, heat and thickness of the burgers. If you're making thin burger you can cook them quickly over high heat. When making thicker burger, like I did, you need to cook them more slowly, over medium heat, so that they have time to be cooked through in the middle.
- Transfer the burgers to a plate.
Cook the pineapple:
- Peel the pineapple, cut off four 1/2-inch (1 cm) slices, core the slices (cut off the hard core that is in the middle of a slice, I like to do it with an apple corer).
- Add another tablespoon of oil if the pan is dry and add the pineapple slices. Cook on both sides until softened and golden brown. Transfer to a plate.
Assemble the burgers:
- Toast the hamburgers buns (optional): place them on a heated, dry pan for a couple of seconds until golden.
- Spread the guacamole on one side of the bun, cover with a lettuce leave, place 1 burger on top, then 1 slice of pineapple, spread a heaped teaspoon of the pineapple sauce, cover with the other half of the bun.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage / make-ahead tips:
- If you would like to make this dish ahead you can make the sauce and the burger mixture. Guacamole can't be made ahead because it will darken and won't look very appealing. On the next day, warm up the sauce, make the guacamole and cook the burgers and pineapple.
- Cooked burgers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can warm them up either on a dry non-stick pan, over low heat for about a minute on one side and 30 seconds on the other, you can also steam the burgers or cook them briefly in the oven just until warm. They taste best freshly cooked, though.
- How to cook perfect salmon burgers:
- Chopping the meat by hand results in a better texture of the burgers. Avoid chopping / grinding it too finely.
- If you don't want to add the breadcrumbs (to get more juicy and delicate burgers) you can chill the salmon mixture in the fridge before cooking it, for about 30 minutes or longer to make more firm patties.
- Don't overwork the meat mixture - this will result in delicate burgers.
- The cooking time will depend on the type of pan, heat, and thickness of the burgers. If you're making thin burgers you can cook them quickly over high heat. When making thicker burgers, like I did, you need to cook them more slowly, over medium heat, so that they have time to be cooked through in the middle.
- Cook the burgers longer on the first side and just finish them quickly on the other side.
- Make sure the pan and oil are well heated, otherwise the burgers can soak too much fat and stick to the pan.
- Make sure to not overcook the burgers or they will be dry. You can check the temperature inside the burgers with a meat thermometer, it should be 145 °F (62.8 °C). This will only be accurate with thick patties! You can also check this by cutting a small slit in the middle of the patty to check if the color of the meat has changer from dark pink to light pink.
- Servings: The recipe yields 4 burgers. 1 burger would be 1 small serving, 2 burgers would be 1 large serving for a hungry person (or a man! ;)). I usually eat 1.5 burgers!
- Calories = 1 burger (1/4 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 705kcal