This salmon burger recipe is hard to beat. It’s light and flaky, but loaded with flavour from the fresh dill and homemade sriracha pickled onions. It also just takes a few minutes to cook on each side over the grill. The burger gets topped with more of those delicious spicy onions, which work great on other sandwiches and will last for up to a month.
How do I keep my salmon patties from falling apart?
The key is to wait until they are sufficiently cooked before flipping. Even though the patty might seem a bit loose when you put them on the grill, they will firm up as you cook. We recommend searing until golden brown, for around 2-3 minutes on each side.
How long does it take for onions to become pickled?
It depends on how crunchy or tender you want your pickled onions to be! For this recipe, which uses a red wine vinegar and sriracha brine, you need to pickle them overnight. They will taste best after a few days, and last you up to a month.
What other salmon dinner recipes can I try?
Besides this salmon burger recipe, we have plenty of other salmon dinner ideas. For a protein-forward dish that comes together in under 20 minutes, try this simple Teriyaki Salmon With Bok Choy. Another meal idea for those on a time crunch is Mary Berg’s Easy Seared Salmon, with a carrot and ginger marinade.
This Boyfriend Baked Salmon features an incredible glaze inspired by St. Louis barbecue sauce. For a more unique dish, try this grilled Cedar Plank Salmon from BC-based seafood sustainability expert Ned Bell. Chef Yotam Ottolenghi uses the fish in this sheet pan Salmon Puttanesca, which makes for an easy and healthy weeknight dinner.
Salmon Burgers With Sriracha Pickled Onions
Equipment
- medium sauce pan
- 2-cup Mason jar
- fire pit and grill grate or charcoal or gas grill
- food processor
- parchment paper
- metal spatula
Ingredients
Sriracha Pickled Red Onions
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 or 3 red onions thinly sliced
Salmon Burgers
- 1 lb 450 g skinless salmon filets, cubed
- leaves and tender stems from 1 bunch fresh dill about 2 cups
- ½ cup Sriracha Pickled Red Onions minced, plus more for serving
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 soft burger buns split
- 1 head bibb lettuce leaves separated
- 2 large ripe tomatoes thinly sliced
Instructions
Sriracha Pickled Red Onions
- Add red wine vinegar, sugar, sriracha and salt to medium saucepan. Bring to full boil over medium heat. Gently stir in red onions. Cover tightly and remove from heat. Let rest at room temperature until cool. Transfer to 2-cup Mason jar, tightly seal and refrigerate overnight. The pickled onions are best after a few days and will last for up to 1 month.
Salmon Burgers
- Build and tend an active fire in a firepit, bringing it to medium-high heat with no live flame and a growing bed of glowing hot coals. Position grill grate directly over fire. Alternatively, light charcoal grill or fire up gas grill to highest setting.
- Put salmon, dill, Sriracha Pickled Red Onions and salt in food processor. Pulse for a few seconds at a time until mixture is a bit chunky and just comes together. Do not purée.
- Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape into thick patties. The burgers may seem like they’ll fall apart, but they’ll firm up as they cook through. Place each patty on separate square of parchment paper. Cook immediately or refrigerate until fire is ready.
- Stoke fire and wait just until the flames die down, while the fire’s fiercest heat remains in its glowing active embers. Invert burgers onto grill with parchment still attached. Remove paper and discard. Sear burgers over fire until golden brown on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip them over and brown second side, another 2 to 3 minutes.
- While burgers are cooking, toast buns cut-side down over fire.
- Transfer Salmon Burgers to bottom of each bun. Top with a leaf or two of lettuce, a few tomato slices and a tangle of sriracha pickled red onions. Finish with bun tops.
