Grilled salmon is one of our favorite “go to” meals. If there are leftovers, I usually serve them cold room temperature with a yogurt and sour cream sauce or as a salad topping, but this past week, I decided to try something new – egg-free salmon patties.
The salmon patties, cakes, or burgers I’ve seen at our local fish store and at the fish counter of local grocery chains look OK, but I felt confident that I could do better with a few fresh ingredients. This version is similar to crab cakes, at least in general technique, and it’s just as scrumptious, but much less expensive.
Don’t stop reading now if you never grill or don’t keep fresh herbs on hand. You can make these with any kind of leftover cooked salmon, or even canned salmon. Dried dill is fine too – just keep in mind that the ratio of fresh to dried is typically 3-to-1, meaning that if a recipe specifies 3 teaspoons of a fresh herb, then you use 1 teaspoon of the dried variety of that herb.
I’ve provided the measurements for a single one. You can make more egg-free salmon patties, cakes or burgers simply by multiplying the ingredient amounts, except for the olive oil, by the number of cakes or burgers you’re making. When it comes to the oil, to make 4 or 6, you’ll need a bit more than for 2, but probably not double or triple that amount.
When these are our main course for dinner, I often serve them with sourdough bread. My husband eats his as a sandwich, while I typically eat my bread on the side. You could also make them smaller as an appetizer for a barbecue, or a light lunch or dinner.
These egg-free patties are a simple make-ahead dinner. Just them the night before, refrigerating them uncooked on a plate tightly covered in plastic wrap or in covered plasticware. Then fry them just before eating – in less than 15 minutes, dinner is ready! [Note – the patties are only egg-free if you use egg-free mayonnaise. Traditionally mayonnaise was made with egg and oil, but the egg-free variety is what I used and that’s why the recipe is egg-free.]
Egg-free Salmon Patties, Cakes, or Burgers
Serving – 1 large cake or burger Cost – $3-4
Ingredients
- 2 ½ ounces of cooked (or canned) salmon
- ½ ounce (⅛ cup) finely diced red pepper
- ½ ounce (⅛ cup) finely diced shallot or “regular” (yellow) onion
- ½ teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon capers, well rinsed. I prefer mine chopped or mashed, but if they are tiny, you can leave them whole.
- ⅓ cup bread crumbs (I mixed homemade and Panko)
- 1½ teaspoons chopped fresh dill (or ½ teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon egg-free mayonnaise (If you use traditional mayonnaise, which contains egg, the patties are not egg-free.)
- 1 -2 tablespoons + 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Bowl
- Fork
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Plate with plastic wrap or covered plasticware
- Pan with cover
- Metal spatula or pancake turner
Preparation
- Mash the salmon in the bowl with the back side of a fork until it is crumbly and in small pieces. No need to fuss over how it looks, just break it up.
- Add the mustard, capers, half of the bread crumbs (about 2½ -3 tablespoons), and dill and mayonnaise.
- Dice the red pepper and onion or shallot by making thin slices, then cutting them horizontally into small pieces.
- Heat the pan until hot but not smoking, add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté (fry) the onion and red pepper for approximately 3 minutes on medium heat until the onion becomes transparent and begins to brown.
- Add the cooked onion and pepper to the salmon mixture.
- Mix the ingredients with the fork until combined, adding a sprinkling of salt (preferably kosher or sea salt) and pepper. I add relatively little salt because the capers retain a salty taste no matter how well you rinse them.
- Then form the patty with your hands – yes, I know it’s a tad messy, but there is really no other way to get a nicely formed burger shape. Press the mixture firmly together but don’t get too rough with it. Roll the burger in the remaining bread crumbs. (If you prefer, you can roll it in the breadcrumbs just before frying.) Put the burger on a plate or in a plasticware, cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. This “resting time” helps the salmon burger to keep its shape while it cooks.
- When ready to cook, heat the pan again to hot but not smoking. Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil (I prefer a nonstick pan for this recipe because it allows you to use less oil) and cook the salmon patty, cake, or burger for approximately 5 minutes per side until the bread crumbs brown. After the first few minutes on each side, cover the pan so that the cake or burger heats through. When removing the cover, be careful to move it quickly so that the water doesn’t drop into the pan. (When even a few drops of water fall into hot oil, the oil can splatter.) While the cake or burger should hold together, it is more delicate than a beef burger, so be gentle when turning it and removing it from the pan.
- Serve as a sandwich or burger – on a bun or with bread, on top of lettuce, or “as is.”
GiGi EatsCelebrities says
SALMON makes me soooo soooo sooo happy!!!
Manila Spoon says
Love make-ahead dinners and that you can use canned salmon for the recipe as sometimes pantry staples are the only option for dinner. Love the step-by-step tutorial and will be trying this for sure. 🙂
motherwouldknow says
Thanks Abigail – always good to have a few quick dinners with canned goods in the pocket:) (another one is pasta e ceci.
Lauren says
Salmon burgers are a staple in our house! Love them!
motherwouldknow says
Lauren – you’re a kindred spirit then
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
These remind me of the tuna burgers my mom used to make. They are one of the things I miss most since going vegetarian (many, many years, but still miss them!)
motherwouldknow says
Kacey – I can only imagine. Hope you found wonderful veggie substitutes.
Josie says
Love salmon burgers! This recipe looks great, I bet the capers add a nice zing to the dish 🙂
motherwouldknow says
Josie – thanks, it’s a nice way to perk up a weekday night dinner.
Alyssa says
I love using leftover salmon for burgers! I always add some quinoa, but never capers. Such a great idea!
motherwouldknow says
Alyssa – Leftover salmon is a bonus. glad you like the addition of capers.
Kelly Page says
I have yet to make a salmon burger, but now you’ve inspired me to try. Thanks for the nice looking recipe!
motherwouldknow says
Kelly – If you try them, I think they’ll go into your regular dinner rotation.
Cyrus says
This is a perfect alternative to the run of the mill crab cake.. Can this be made with fresh salmon at all? Or is it just that much easier to make it with canned?
motherwouldknow says
Cyrus, You can definitely make it with fresh salmon. But if it’s very moist, just take that into account when adding the other ingredients and pressing the salmon cakes together.
Amy Basso says
What a great way to use up leftover salmon!
motherwouldknow says
Amy – Agreed!
Andie Nantz says
This is a misleading title.
You’ve subbed mayo for the egg. Mayo is an emulsion of oils and egg. This is not egg-free. My child is allergic to egg and could very well be told this was safe to eat.
Laura says
Andie, You are so right, traditional mayonnaise does contain eggs. (I used an egg-free mayo and didn’t specify that.) I apologize and have changed the title to deleted the reference to the recipe being egg-free and have added a note under the mayo as an ingredient to specify that the mayo must be egg-free in order for the recipe to be egg-free.
Baba says
Note under mayo does not show up on my computer screen. I, too, use an egg-free mayo, but anyone not used to cooking egg free could easily be mislead by the multiple uses of “egg free” in your posting and the missing clarification on the mayonnaise.
Laura says
Baba, thanks for bringing that to my attention. I added the clarification in two places now, so the post is clearer on that aspect of the recipe.
John says
Thank you! This sounds super delicious and quite easy. I’ll be making this for sure next time my kids visit!
Laura says
John, So glad you like the recipe. It’s a favorite of mine.
Joan says
can you bake rather than fry?
Laura says
Joan, I’ve never done it, but I would imagine that you could, as long as you brushed a bit of oil or butter on them and baked them for long enough.
Frannie says
Could you make this into a salmon loaf and bake it in the oven?
Laura says
Frannie, To turn it into a baked salmon loaf, I think it would need egg (almost all baked salmon loaves call for eggs) or at least some other liquidy binder. These salmon cakes are probably too dry for a loaf baked for half hour or more.
Liz says
Great recipe and quick to make.
Laura says
Liz, Thanks.