Grilled Salmon Burgers
My salmon burgers let the fish be the star. No blender required and you still get juicy and tender salmon patties with lots of flavor. One of the best ways to make salmon, in my opinion, is to grill it and infuse it in the mild, smoky flavor. It is just irresistible. These salmon burgers will be your go-to burgers this summer because they are not just grilled once, but twice!
Ingredients Notes Before Cooking
Salmon – you can use either fresh salmon or leftover grilled salmon. I made sure to include the instructions to grill the salmon but also, you can use previously grilled (or even baked) salmon. Do use salmon with skin on because it will help retain nutrition and protect the fish from the direct heat of the grill.
Important binders – ingredients like egg, panko, mayo, and mustard are all binder ingredients that help hold the mixture together. But that’s not all, these ingredients actually have 3 jobs: they help with binding, flavor, and moisture.
Important for flavor and moisture – the ingredients that help with moisture inside the patties are onions, garlic, bell peppers, and bread crumbs.
Tips For The Best Salmon Burgers
- When grilling salmon, grease the salmon with oil not the grill grate. BUT, make sure that the grill grate is clean before adding salmon.
- Some salmon can be juicier than others, so if your salmon patty mixture looks a little thin, add 2-4 more tablespoons of bread crumbs.
- When grilling salmon patties, it’s best to do it on a grill basket because the space between the bars on the grill grate is too wide.
- Make sure to grease the grill basket before adding the salmon patties and the spray the tops of the patties with cooking oil. This way, when you flip them, it will prevent them from sticking.
- To make these grilled salmon patties gluten free, use gluten free bread crumbs. You can also use gluten free buns for the burgers, but note that it will be tougher because gluten free bread is much more dense.
Fun Toppings
Don’t be afraid to pair your salmon burgers with fun and adventurous toppings! Try:
- Fruit salsas – like mango salsa, pineapple salsa, or avocado salsa.
- Sauces – tzatziki sauce, tartar sauce, ranch or blue cheese
- Caramelized onion
- Egg
Make Ahead and Freezing Options
Make ahead: You can grill salmon ahead of time and then keep it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until ready to make the patties and burgers. I don’t recommend mixing the salmon patty mixture ahead of time, because diced vegetables will give out excess juices when sitting there.
Freezing: it’s best to freeze shaped salmon patties before cooking them. Follow the recipe to grill salmon and mix salmon patties mixture and shape the patties. Place the patties on the cutting board lined with parchment paper and freeze it for about 2 hours. Don’t forget to set the timer so you don’t forget about them! When frozen, wrap each one in plastic wrap and place them into a zip-lock freezer bag. Label the bag and place it in the freezer. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw: Slow-thaw frozen salmon patties in the refrigerator and then grill them as instructed in the recipe.
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Grilled Salmon Burger Recipe
Ingredients
Salmon Patties:
- 1.5 lb skin on salmon filet (1.5-1.75 lb filet will work)
- 1/4 cup yellow or sweet onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper finely diced
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- salt
- black pepper
- oil to rub salmon and grill basket
To Make The Burges:
- 4-5 Brioche buns
- lettuce
- tomato sliced thin
- red onion sliced thin
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp capers
Instructions
To Grill Salmon:
- Prepare the grill to have two temperature zones and make sure to clean the grill grate. (Even though you will be cooking over the hot zone, you may need to move salmon over to the cooler side if the skin starts to burn before it's cooked through.)
- Rub salmon all around, especially the skin, with some oil and season it with salt and pepper.
- Place salmon in the grill skin down and cook it, with the lid closed, until it's opaque and firm to the touch. Depending on the thickness of salmon, it will take from 15-20 minutes. Thicker filet, may take a few minutes longer. (Please note, that if you are cooking several thin filets and not one 1.5 piece, it will take much less time, around 8-12 minutes.)
Preparing Salmon Patties:
- Prepare all the ingredients for the salmon patties while salmon is cooking.
- Once salmon is done, take it off the grill and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- Use a fork to flake the meat off the skin. Discard the skin and place the cooked salmon meat into a mixing bowl.
- Add all onions, bell pepper, pressed garlic, egg, bread crumbs, mayo, Dijon mustard, herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to the bowl with salmon meat and mix everything to combine thoroughly.
- Note: it's best to use a grill basket, grill wok (with holes), or another grill topper for holding the salmon patties. Make sure to grease a grill basket first, before adding the patties onto it.
- Shape salmon mixture into patties that are about 4 inches in diameter and place them onto the greased grill basket. Spray some cooking oil on top of each patty.
- Place the grill basket with patties onto the grill, close the lid and cook for 5-6 minutes. Carefully flip each patty over and add cook another 5 minutes.
- Take it off the grill.
Make Salmon Burgers:
- Combine mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and capers together for the sauce.
- To make the burgers, simply divide the salmon patties among the Brioche buns, add some sauce, lettuce, tomato slices, thinly sliced onions, and any other toppings you would like.
Video
Nutrition
More Delicious Salmon Recipes!
Salmon Patties Using Fresh Salmon
Categories:
4th Of July Recipes, Backyard BBQ Recipes, Burger Recipes, Lunch Recipe Ideas, Salmon Dinner Recipes, Sandwich Recipes, Seafood Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Love salmon burgers a lot. Thanks for this recipe.
Your so welcome, Paul! Enjoy!