As you may have recently seen on my Instagram, I have collaborated with my good friend Liisa (@Essential_oil_health) to give away a few of my favourite essential oils. Not only are essential oils great for diffusing into the air and making your home smell amazing, you can actually use them in cooking (in small amounts of course)! We thought that these oils would be perfect for spring since they are so uplifting and refreshing, and can be used in tons of recipes, like this one for Lemon & Herb Salmon Burgers!
There is not a can of salmon in sight with this recipe—it is made with fresh salmon fillet. I really prefer fresh salmon as opposed to canned salmon since it’s often less pungent and less cat food-y…if you know what I mean. I like to cook with sockeye salmon, but when it is out of season, it can be quite expensive. As an alternative, I like to cook these burgers with pink salmon. It doesn’t have as deep of colour of flavour, but since we are adding tons of fresh herbs and lemon, we don’t want to mask the beautiful salmon taste. Pink salmon is often cheaper and has a longer season than sockeye salmon as well.
Sustainability is Key
I also like chinook salmon, but I have avoided cooking with it in recent years since their populations are in severe decline in BC. A great resource that I look to when cooking with fish or any type of seafood is http://seafood.ocean.org/. The Ocean Wise program lists all certified seafood including the best/most sustainable capture methods, and harvest locations. Also, when in doubt, just talk to your local fish monger—they know everything there is to know about seafood and sustainability!
All About Texture
For great texture in these burgers, I like to finely chop the salmon fillet into a small dice and then run my knife back and forth through it a few times so that it has the texture of ground meat. This will give you some chunks of salmon in the burgers, and enough “paste” to hold the burgers together. Apart from the salmon, I also add in some fresh lemon juice, dill, parsley, red onion, chili flakes, panko breadcrumbs, and of course some Lemon essential oil. Only add about 4-5 drops since the essential oil is packed with flavour!
I like to pan fry these burgers after they have had some time to firm up in the fridge. It takes about 4 minutes per side to fully cook the burgers. Serve these on some freshly toasted buns, or on a salad topped off with a little dill aioli. Either way, these healthy, fresh and flavourful salmon burgers will be a huge hit!
Get the Recipe!
Lemon & Herb Salmon Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh pink salmon fillet skin and bones removed
- ¼ cup red onion finely diced
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers finely chopped
- 4-5 drops doTERRA Lemon Essential Oil
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ - ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Finely chop the salmon fillet into small pieces, almost to the consistency of ground meat. Add it to a large bowl with the red onion, parsley, dill, capers, doTERRA Lemon essential oil, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add the panko breadcrumbs and mix to combine. The mixture should hold together lightly. If it is too crumbly, add some more breadcrumbs.
- Divide the mixture evenly and shape into rounds about 2 centimeters thick. Gently press the rounds together so that the mixture holds together. Place the rounds on a lightly oiled plate and repeat the process for the remaining mixture. Refrigerate for at least one hour to let the burgers set.
- Heat a frying pan over medium high heat and add the vegetable oil. Place the cold salmon burgers into the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and there is no bright pink colour left. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Delish!