Fish and burger are two words that are not synonymous. Having said that, it actually works (forget the Mickey D's fillet o' fish nonsense) I've actually had some beer battered fish burgers that have been amazing.
My motivation for this, was, well, just burgers. I love them and I haven't had a fish burger in yonks so I thought why not. Now, rather than have a trimmed down fillet that's battered and fried, I opted to finely chop my fillet. This added texture and meant that I could ultimately shape the fish into a pattie. The best fish to use? Snapper, tilapia.....you could actually also use salmon.
The trick to having a burger that works, is also the toppings you have for it. Sometimes the simpler the better which is what I did for this burger. Tartare sauce and some crunchy vegetable only
Makes 4
400 grams fish filet
Cornflour
Juice of 1 lemon
Panko breadcrumbs ( You can also use regular breadcrumbs)
2 beaten eggs
Salt and pepper
4 sesame burger buns
1 head of romaine lettuce, washed
1 large red onion cut into rings
Vegetable oil
For the tartare sauce
1 jar of mayonnaise
50 grams of capers
4 small pickled cucumber (Gherkins)
Clean your fish filet with lemon juice (I usually do this to remove any 'fishy' taste) and then carefully and using a sharp knife, mince your fish into very fine cubes (do not be tempted to put it into a mincer as the burger may get a rubbery texture). Alternatively, you can ask your local fishmonger to do this for you.
Once your fish is ready, place it in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add your cornflour one teaspoon at a time until the fish can bind enough to form balls. Once you've done this, divide the fish into 4 round balls and then gently flatten them with the palms of your hand to form patties. Place on a plate and leave them to chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove the patties and heat up a generous amount of oil on a medium heat in a frying pan; enough to shallow fry the patties.
Dip your patties into the egg making sure they are fully coated and then dip them into the panko breadcrumbs. Place the patties into the pan 2 at a time depending on the size of your pan. Cook the fish on each side for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are an even golden brown colour.
Set the patties aside and in a separate pan or under a grill, lightly toast your burger buns.
For the tartare sauce, put about 150ml of mayonnaise into a bowl and to this, add the finely chopped capers and gherkins and some salt to taste.
To assemble your burger, layer the bottom with romaine lettuce and some red onion rings then the fish pattie. On the pattie, heap a generous amount of tartare sauce then the top bun.
You now have a fish burger!