Grilled Salmon Burger with Horseradish Caper Mayo

We found a new favorite way to eat silver or coho salmon. Just simply grilled with a bit of rub will always be our favorite way to eat King.

This summer we had spent a day hiking and ended up stopping in Port Townsend on our way home for dinner. We  found a tavern in town on the water, Sirens, where T had the grilled salmon burger that served as the inspiration for this creation.

The inspiration from Sirens Tavern

T said immediately ..."we'll be making these for sure." Often salmon burgers are made with sub-par salmon bits mixed with fillers and who knows what else. This salmon burger was just a delicious piece of salmon fillet. It was perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked.

The Met had some excellent looking coho salmon that prompted us to finally attempt to make our own version of this grilled salmon burger.

For the salmon we just gave it a little of

Tom Douglas' Rub with Salmon Rub prior to grilling it.

T also pulled out the pin bones,

this is usually G's job but I'm pretty sure he was watching football at the time.

The mayo was also a simple combination of light mayonnaise,

prepared horseradish and capers.

We cut up some lettuce, tomatoes and red onion

to compliment the burger.

We remembered the bun of the Siren's burger being very soft on the inside but a little chewy on the outside.

So when we found these ciabatta rolls we knew they'd be perfect for the burger.

Instead of fries we decided we'd serve our burger with roasted cauliflower. We had purchased a nice head of cauliflower at the Proctor's farmers market earlier that day.

We love roasted cauliflower as a side dish or even just as a snack. For this dish we decided to do a more Indian inspired spice mix.

After tossing the chopped cauliflower with the spices & a drizzle of olive oil into the oven the cauliflower went.

When it was time we put the salmon on the grill skin side up initially.

T didn't oil the grill grate quite well enough so the salmon started to tear a bit when we flipped it.

But it was perfectly cooked medium rare when we took it off the grill. When salmon is over cooked it's just a shame..it loses all of it's sweetness and fresh flavor.

We assembled our burgers and topped them with some of the horseradish caper mayo.

We opened a bottle of 2008 Three Rivers Sauvignon Blanc to go with our meal.

Which perfectly complimented both the salmon and spicy cauliflower.

The salmon burger was definitely a hit. Pretty much exactly as the original that inspired it.

RECIPE:

Grilled Salmon Burger with Horseradish Caper Mayo

1 lb. salmon fillet ( we used coho)

2 Tblspn. Tom Douglas' Salmon Rub

1/4 Cup light mayo

1/4 Cup prepared horseradish

2 Tblspn. drained capers

ciabatta buns

Sliced tomato, red onion & lettuce

Rub salmon with rub spices. Grill salmon until medium rare (time depends on thickness of your salmon..approximately 8-10 minutes.) Smear buns with mayo. Assemble burger on bun with tomato, lettuce & onion.

Roasted Cauliflower

Rinse cauliflower. Remove stem and leaves. Slice Cauliflower into pieces about an inch thick. Combine desired spices. Some of our favorites: cumin, curry, red pepper flake, chipolte powder, etc....Add salt to spice. Toss cauliflower with spice and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in 375 degree over for 25-35 minutes until cooked through.