Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers

These Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingOfFlavor #CollectiveBias

It may be due to the childhood summers I spent in the Florida Keys, but there is just something about summertime that makes seafood taste better! Whether it be shrimp kabobs, an oyster cook-out or boiled lobster tails - enjoying it all in the warm weather seems like perfection. Last week, during a seafood-craving, my husband and I enjoyed a sushi dinner which included a sushi roll that contained spicy salmon. It was amazing to say the least. After doing a little research I found out that a lot of spicy sushi meats are simply hot sauce mixed in with the meat. {say what?!?} So, I knew I had to try my own hand at making a spicy salmon dish - but with my own little twist on it. A tropical twist. These Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers are an ode to my husband and mine's love of seafood, hot sauce, burgers and everything tropical!

When it came to the ingredients in these Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers it was the hot sauce that I was the most concerned with. I knew the hot sauce could make or break this recipe! One of my favorite hot sauce brands is El Yucateco, a world-renowed company that started as a small family business. Their vision is to create the best habanero sauce and let me tell you - they're rocking it! I chose to use El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce, which is made with fresh red habanero peppers and is deliciously spicy. I like that it's made with less vinegar than other hot sauce brands, allowing more of the pepper flavor to shine through. El Yucateco's red sauce turned out to be the perfect addition to this salmon burger recipe! {I also grabbed bottles of El Yucateco's Green Habanero Hot Sauce and Black Label Reserve to keep on hand for future hot sauce needs!}

Salmon Burgers are one of those menu items that I've always wanted to try making at home, they just taste so amazing when prepared fresh. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it is to make with the right tools! My trusty ol' food processor was definitely the hardest worker in the kitchen for these Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers.

 

But these salmon burger patties are not only made with meat that is ground up in a food processor, there are also small, hand-cut chunks - giving the burgers a fabulous meaty texture. The mix is shaped into patties and then refrigerated to help the patties stay together while being pan-fried.

While the salmon burger patties are chilling in the fridge, it's the perfect time to whip up the Spicy Tropical Sauce that takes these Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers over the top. This sauce, which is like tasting a scorching day in paradise, is a blend of tropical ingredients + red hot sauce in creamy greek yogurt. The recipe yields about one and a half cups, so there will be enough leftover to enjoy as a dipping sauce for cheese quesadillas, vegetables, french fries or chicken strips.

Pin the image below for easy reference to this fantastic summertime dipping sauce!

The salmon patties are pan-fried in less than ten minutes, making a very short cooking time for this recipe. Which also means less time to heat up the kitchen. Score! I assembled all four burgers at once and they were on the table in no time. Each burger was topped with fresh squeezed lime, Spicy Tropical Sauce, a pineapple ring, slice of tomato + onion - all atop green leaf lettuce on a toasted brioche bun.

We enjoyed these burgers with friends, over the weekend in the warm summer weather - with plenty of lemonade to cool off the tasty fiery explosion of these Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers! I can't say enough good things about this recipe other than I will definitely be making it again. And again.

Spicy Tropical Salmon Burgers
{PRINTABLE RECIPE}
yields 4 burgers
Ingredients
1lb center-cut salmon filet, skinned and de-boned
zest of 1 lime
juice from ½ lime
2 tablespoons El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon jerk seasoning
¼ cup crushed pineapple, slightly drained
1½ cup panko breadcrumbs, separated
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
1 Cut half of salmon meat into larger 1” chunks. Cut other half of salmon into smaller ¼”-½” chunks. Place 1” salmon pieces into food processor along with lime juice, lime zest, red habanero sauce, greek yogurt, dry mustard, jerk seasoning, crushed pineapple and ½ cup panko breadcrumbs. Process until all ingredients are well combined.
2 In mixing bowl combine salmon mixture with smaller pieces of salmon, mix until well incorporated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide salmon mixture into 4 piles on baking sheet and shape into patties. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3 In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Place remaining panko breadcrumbs on plate, coat each salmon patty in breadcrumbs, using fingertips if necessary. Place in warmed skillet, cooking on each side 3-4 minutes before turning. Remove from skillet to plate lined with paper towel.
4 To build Spicy Tropical Burgers place following ingredients in order - bottom brioche bun, green leaf lettuce, salmon burger, spicy tropical sauce {see recipe below}, pineapple ring, red onion slice, tomato slice and top brioche bun. Enjoy!

Spicy Tropical Sauce
yields approximately 1½ cups
Ingredients
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
¼ cup crushed pineapple, slightly drained
1 tablespoon jerk seasoning
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
juice from 1 lime
Directions
1 Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.
2 Keep in fridge and use within one week to ensure freshness.

I purchased my bottles of El Yucateco at Walmart, in the Hispanic Foods section.

El Yucateco Grilling