Salmon Burgers with Garlic Aioli

Once again, perhaps not my finest picture. It's a good thing this is a cooking blog and I make no claims on photography. Suffice it to say that when placed on a roll with garlic aioli and tomato this poor burger looks much happier.

And lest you think I simply purchased a salmon burger at Whole Foods and am passing it off here as a recipe since I slipped some tomato on, please note that this is made from purchasing a filet of salmon and constructing the burger from scratch. Creating the burger yourself not only allows you to customize the flavoring and spices, but also tastes far fresher than a prepared burger. Obviously, the higher quality your starting filet, the better the burger will be in the end.

So let's get started! I used two lbs of salmon which created 11 burgers. Make sure to adjust the recipe as necessary to ensure that you are creating the correct number. Mine happily fed five people, but you can make as few or as many as you choose. Once you have selected your filets, cut the salmon into small cubes, about 1/2 inch on each side. I found it easiest to cut the salmon first, not breaking the skin, and then to peel each cube off. This was faster than trying to remove all of the skin at once.

Place the salmon in a large bowl and add: 3/4 cup diced onion, 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 1 cup fat free mayo (perhaps a little less), 1 tablespoon cajun spice, and 4 teaspoons dijon mustard. I used less mayonnaise to begin, but ended up adding more when the burgers were not sticking well. Feel free to use closer to 3/4 cup at first if you prefer, but make sure you are prepared to add as needed.

Mix the burgers well and shape them into patties using your hands. Just make sure you wash them first (and after!) You do not want to handle any other food products after playing with raw fish. However, there is truly no utensil that is nearly as useful as your hands for this step.

I cooked my burgers on the stove, but if you have use of a grill on a nice day feel free to use that instead. If you choose to grill you might want to place a piece of foil under the burgers to avoid losing half your salmon between the rails.

If you are using the stove, heat a small amount of oil (1 teaspoon-ish) in a pan over medium heat. After the oil is warm, place the burgers into the pan. I could easily fit 4 in a frying pan with plenty of space to flip them. Cook for about 8 minutes on each side. When you flip the burger it should be cooked about halfway through and be beginning to brown. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your burgers, so adjust as needed.

While the burgers are cooking you can prepare the garlic aioli topping that goes with them so well. Simply mix together: 1/2 cup of fat free mayo, 2.5 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 minced garlic cloves. Beware, this is a delicious but rather strong aioli so only use a little per burger.

I like my burgers served on toasted buns with the aioli and tomato, but your guests (or you) might also enjoy mustard, onion, or lettuce. Dress your burgers as you choose and enjoy them as they come off the stove, nice and hot!