Name: Tremendous Salmon Burger
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 23 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1.25 lb skinless salmon fillet, fresh; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; 2 tbsp capers, drained and chopped; 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped; 2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped; 1 tsp lemon zest; 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1 small shallot, minced; 3/4 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 1/3 cup mayonnaise (for aioli); 1 clove garlic, grated; 1 tsp lemon juice; 4 brioche buns, toasted; as needed butter lettuce, sliced cucumber, red onion (for serving)

Tremendous Salmon Burger

Prep

15m

Cook

Total

23m

Bigly says

Listen to me. The best salmon burger I ever ate was at a roadside stand in Oregon — and the man who made it, a gruff guy in a flannel shirt, didn't say a word, he just slid it across the counter and stared at me until I took a bite, and then he NODDED, one single nod, like he knew. He knew what he had done to me. I drove back the next day. He was gone. The stand was gone. I've been chasing that burger ever since, and this recipe — MY recipe — is the closest I've come. It might be better. I'll say it. It IS better. Hands down.

Most salmon burgers are made from a CAN. A can. They crack the lid, they dump in some crumbs, they call it a burger. An embarrassment to the salmon. The salmon swam UPSTREAM for that. The salmon fought BEARS — real bears, the salmon won, look it up — and then somebody put it in a tin and slapped a label on it? A disgrace. Other so-called chefs won't say it. They're afraid of Big Tuna. Big Tuna has them on speed dial. But I'll say it: canned salmon belongs in a sandwich at 2am when nothing else is open, not in a burger you serve to people you love.

We're using fresh salmon. We're chopping it BY HAND. Not the food processor — the food processor turns it into PASTE, and paste is for drywall, not for dinner. Sharp knife. Chunky chop. Some bigger pieces, some smaller. You get texture. You get BITE. You get a burger that fights back a little. Then we hit it with capers and lemon and dill and a whisper of Dijon, sear it hot and fast in a heavy pan, slide it onto a toasted brioche bun with a swipe of garlic aioli and a few cool slices of cucumber, and what you've built — what YOU built, with your own hands — is what the restaurants charge twenty-eight dollars for and serve in a portion the size of a credit card. Tremendous.

Ingredients

1.25 lbskinless salmon fillet, fresh(fresh, never canned, do not insult the salmon)
1 tbspDijon mustard
2 tbspmayonnaise
2 tbspcapers, drained and chopped
2 tbspfresh dill, chopped
2 tbspfresh chives, chopped
1 tsplemon zest
1/3 cuppanko breadcrumbs
1 smallshallot, minced
3/4 tspkosher salt
1/2 tspblack pepper
2 tbspneutral oil
1/3 cupmayonnaise (for aioli)
1 clovegarlic, grated
1 tsplemon juice
4brioche buns, toasted
as neededbutter lettuce, sliced cucumber, red onion (for serving)

Steps

1
Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. With a sharp chef's knife, chop the fillet into small 1/4-inch pieces — some finer, some chunkier. Do not use a food processor.
2
Transfer the chopped salmon to a large bowl. Add Dijon, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, capers, dill, chives, lemon zest, panko, shallot, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with a fork just until combined.
3
Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into patties about 3/4 inch thick. Refrigerate 10 minutes to firm up.
4
While the patties chill, make the aioli: stir together the 1/3 cup mayonnaise, grated garlic, and lemon juice. Season with a pinch of salt.
5
Heat the oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
6
Cook the patties 3 minutes on the first side without moving, until a deep golden crust forms. Flip carefully and cook another 2-3 minutes for just-cooked-through (the center should still look slightly translucent — it will carry over).
7
Transfer to a plate and rest 1 minute. Spread aioli on both halves of each toasted bun. Build with lettuce, the salmon patty, sliced cucumber, and a few thin rings of red onion. Serve immediately.

One more thing

Put this salmon burger in front of someone who 'doesn't really like fish' and you watch it happen. You watch the conversion. You watch the moment where they realize they've been LIED to their entire lives about fish, by their parents, by their schools, by Big Tilapia. It's a religious experience. People stand up. People walk to the window. They look out at the world and they see it differently. And it took you twenty-three minutes. Twenty-three. Minutes. That's the Bigly value proposition. Tell your friends.