Burgers. A classic summer food. I love veggie burgers. I am not a fan of meat burgers. I can tolerate chicken burgers. Time to try something different - fish burgers. Although not typical, these can be really tasty when done right. It is possible to use a fillet of fish, either plain or breaded or battered and fried, but you can also use "ground" fish as well, formed into patties. It is much like chicken burgers, where you could use a chicken breast or ground chicken. There are many different types of fish burgers - crab, haddock, even scallop burgers. This is a salmon burger. Fish burgers may be made with canned fish, but the flavor is so much better with real fish fillets, even if they are frozen. There burgers are tasty and moist.
Salmon Burgers
1 pound salmon pieces or fillets, skin and bones removed (we used frozen wild Pacific)
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons dry bread crumbs
salt and pepper, to taste
Grease grill and preheat to medium-high.
Cut salmon into chunks. Pulse it in a food processor along with the remaining ingredients. Shape into four 2 cm thick patties.
Place patties on the grill, close lid, and cook for about ten minutes, turning once. A thermometer should register 158◦F.
Notes: You may add a little minced parsley, a squirt of lemon juice, a dash or hot pepper sauce, or other flavor enhancers to the patties.
This recipe is evenly multiplied. We used three pounds of salmon to make 12 patties.
These patties are fairly soft and crumbly, more like veggie burgers, since they are fish patties and not meat patties. They should be handled gently and carefully so they will stay together.
Here are some homemade veggie bean burgers I made. This was my first time making veggie burgers (or any type of burger at all actually). There are so many vegetable burger recipes out there using so many different ingredients! I didn't know whether to make a tofu burger, a bean burger, a vegetable burger, a potato burger, a mushroom burger, or a grain burger. Veggie burgers often contain some form of soy based protein or beans, along with some vegetable fillers, often onion, carrot, and celery, and a grain to bind it together, such as flour, quinoa, brown rice, or breadcrumbs. Many veggie burger recipes don't use egg because they are also vegan recipe. Most veggie burger recipes contain a bevy of healthy, and often strange or expensive, ingredients, such as quinoa, brown rice, lentils as fillers; as well as a slew of vegetables, including corn, pumpkin, squash, and spinach. You can also just grill a portabella mushroom cap, and eat that like a burger. I have had a few of these "burgers" before, and when done right, they are very tasty and have a nice, meaty texture. For my first try, I decided to take the basics of a simple recipe I found online, and alter it as I pleased. I settled on a simple bean burger recipe with chili sauce to give it a bit of kick. I haven't tasted many veggie burgers, so I don't know how good this one was, but it certainly had flavor, and a texture I liked, soft and moist with a crisp exterior.
Chili Bean Burgers
1 can (540 mL) white kidney beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Tablespoons finely shredded carrot
1 large egg
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Mash the beans in a bowl with your hands. Mash them to your preference - more if you like a smooth-textured veggie burger, less if you like some texture. Add in the onion and carrot, then add the remaining ingredients and mix well, using your hands if necessary. Form into patties (I got five from this recipe). These can be wrapped in waxed paper and refrigerated until needed, or cooked immediately. They can be fried in a pan of oil at medium heat for about 10 - 12 minutes, or grilled on the barbecue for 10-15 minutes. Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings.
Tonight we are barbecuing hamburgers and veggie burgers for supper, so naturally I decided to try making my own burger buns. Surprisingly, I have never tried this before, we usually just use store bought buns, but I wanted to try my hand at making some. There are actually many recipes for this, and you can adapt regular dinner roll recipes and simply shape them differently (this works for hotdog buns too). I decided to try a simple recipe for my first time. They turned out ok, but didn't rise all that well while baking, despite rising nicely beforehand. I also may have baked them a bit too long, so they are more crisp rather than soft and chewy, but still tasty. Because they did not rise well, they were cut thin, and a bit tricky to slice in half. Next time I will choose a less humid and rainy day to try them, but they certainly went well with the hamburgers and veggie burgers barbecued tonight, which I will feature in tomorrow's post.
Hamburger Buns
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package (8 grams) active dry yeast
1 large egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, stir the sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let stand undisturbed for ten minutes until bubbly. Stir to dissolve yeast. Add eggs, oil, and salt. Work in enough flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Shape dough into balls the size of tennis balls. Flatten slightly and place two inches apart on a baking sheet. Allow to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375◦F for about 20 minutes.
Summer means lots of barbecues, grilled food, and dining al fresco. Here is an example of just one barbecue feast we had. We had a few guests over, and for the majority, we are big meat-eaters (me excluded, but I do enjoy some grilled meat once in a while). My father manned the grill once again. In total, he grilled chicken breasts, sausages, pork chops, and steaks. No lack of variety in meat there, although I would have enjoyed some surf to go along with all of our turf, but that's just because I am a big fish lover. And of course we didn't just eat all meat. We did have some vegetables as well, and some potatoes, because what is steak without potatoes? Most of the meat my father barbecues is simply brushed with our favorite barbecue sauce, simple, easy, and tasty. The steaks were marinated overnight before cooking, but other than that, barbecue preparation around here is pretty simple. We didn't have hot dogs or hamburgers this time, as we often do, so we didn't even need to bother with buns. Summer is all about outdoor cooking and fuss-free meals. Pass the ketchup and mustard, and we are all set.
The Grill Master at our house (also known as my father) cooked up another great supper recently. He made ribs again, but usually he cooks them in the slow cooker. This time, since it was a beautiful hot day, he decided to use the barbecue. He prepared his usual dry spice rub and barbecue sauce to finish the ribs, and even decided to use some flavored wood chips. He slowly smoked the ribs for about four hours. Some people insist on smoking ribs for much longer, up to eight to twelve hours, but dad did a shorter cooking time. The ribs were not quite fall off the bone and as tender as usual, but they were pretty good. I liked the crispy coating they got from the barbecue. Another issue was that my father could only get side ribs at the store, when we have always had back ribs. Back ribs are what we are used to, and we generally prefer them, but I found these side ribs pretty good as well. The ribs turned out incredibly spicy, probably because more of the rub is lost in the long process of slow cooking, so go a bit easier on the rub when grilling. Leaving the sauce until close to the end also left the ribs with a nice saucy coating. The ribs were also incredibly moist. Maybe this was because they were tented with foil and briefly allowed to rest before being cut.
This is what I made as a side dish to go with the chicken from last night. They are called Potato Patties and the recipe is from Company's Coming "Barbecues". These patties can be grilled in a vegetable basket on the barbecue or fryed in a frying pan on the stove. I fried them and they were quite tasty. I bet they would be good if you barbecued them, spread them with BBQ sauce, and put them inside hamburger buns. Then they would make a nice vegetarian burger, just like grilled portebello mushroom caps do! Anyway, they are a great alternative to the usual mashed potato side dish.
To make them, all you have to do is boil as many medium potaotes as people you are serving until barely tender. Then give them a litle grate in the food processor. Add some chopped onion, salt, and pepper, and form them into patties. Then grill or fry for 7-10 minutes per side, until golden and crispy. That's it! Quick, easy, and yummy!
Paré, Jean. "Potato Patties." Recipe. Barbecues, Edmonton Alberta: Company's Coming Publishing Limited, 1995. 141.
It's summertime, and for many people that means cooking on the barbecue as often as possible; lunch, supper, and even breakfast and dessert?! Grilling has certainly gained popularity over the past few years, with food items going where they have never gone before. For example, until recently I had never heard of grilling grapefruit, radicchio, or pound cake. And did you know you can grill pizza, sandwiches, and meatloaf? Biscuits, muffins, and breads can also be cooked on the barbecue.
Just recently, I came across a recipe for chocolate cake on the barbecue while reading a cookbook dedicated to barbecues. The book also included recipes for bananas caramel, apple pie, and dessert pizza on the barbecue. It turns out that when it is just too hot to turn on the oven and heat up the entire house, the barbecue can be used to cook just about anything! Barbecues can be used as an oven to cook anything in a pan, simply by placing the pan on the medium grill over indirect heat to cook, and rotating the pan at half time. It will take about the same amount of time to cook as it would in the oven at 350F. This works for cakes, muffins, bread, and even cookies. Isn't that neat? Now you can bake anytime through the summer, no matter how high the temperature is!
PHOTO CREDIT:"bbq.jpg" http://www.changemyplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/bbq-300x198.jpg .Change My Plate, n.d. Saturday, February 2, 2013.
