KID FRIENDLY, NON-FISHY, GF/PALEO SALMON BURGERS

September 18, 2013 by A Ventography! 9 Comments

As some of you know from reading, I have Annie on a rotation diet due to her numerous food allergies. I have been dying for her to eat something different, so I hopped on google in search of a gluten-free recipe for salmon burgers that I thought Annie would eat. Above is the picture that lured me in… they looked so good I could almost taste them. Here’s the recipe:

• Two 6oz cans (BPA free) of wild caught sockeye Alaskan salmon
• 1 whole, ripe avocado (you can substitute a cooked sweet potato)
• 1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning (more if you really like the taste)
• 3 tablespoons of coconut flour (or almond flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill (or fresh dill if you’re an ambitious chef like Leah)
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped green onion (I didn’t have this so I used 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder)
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped celery (I didn’t have this so I used 1/4 teaspoon of celery salt)
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley (that’s right, I didn’t have this either so I used 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley)
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons of coconut milk (or almond milk)
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (for frying)

Place the chopped veggies/herbs, avocado, seasoning, salmon, and coconut flour into a bowl and mix. Add 3 tablespoons coconut milk and mix again. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide mixture into 6 burgers and put them on a plate and chill in the fridge for about an hour.

To cook, heat coconut oil in skillet over med heat. When the oil is hot, add burgers (don’t overcrowd the pan). Fry 4-5 minutes per side, flipping only once (make sure first side is crispy and golden brown before flipping).

Unfortunately, this method did not work for me. I think it’s because I cook in pans made of enamel coated cast iron (which are a real pain and very sticky but supposedly healthier to cook in than aluminum, stainless steel, or teflon). Anyway – here is what my fried salmon burger looked like.

Scrambled Avocado Salmon

As you can see, it has an unappetizing green tint to it – I think this is because I didn’t follow directions. I mushed the avocado instead of just chopping it. My creation started off as a burger, but as I went to flip it, it turned into what I affectionately named “Scrambled Avocado Salmon.”

Luckily, Annie’s reaction to the salmon fiasco was “mmmm, mmm, mmm!” She happily ate it but I was repulsed by the look of it. I decided to try cooking the rest of the burgers in the oven. I heated my oven to 400 degrees and cooked my remaining 5 burgers for 30 minutes (cook the burgers until they look brown and crispy on the outside). Here’s what they looked like… not beautiful like the recipe picture, but good enough that I would serve them to my family and friends.