Greg Duncan

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GREG DUNCAN

Remembering Mom's Salmon Burgers

Everyone has a memory of a dish that Mom cooked up when they were a kid. Memories, you know, live on in two categories and perhaps a third - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Most Moms do a good job of putting good eats on the table. However, they are often faced with challenges that vary according to budget and available time and resources.

This means that no matter how hard they try, there will always be some dish that does not elicit cheers on the home front. I have mixed emotional memory regarding the following:

One is of my Mom serving up salmon burgers. She called them patties and I'm nor sure if she learned how to make them while we lived in Sitka, Alaska, or Vancouver, BC.

I am sure though that the West (wet) coast played some role in why she served them. Ironically, she always used canned fish (and still does), despite the availability of fresh salmon. Perhaps this was a budget issue or simply a function of practical ease and taste.

Either way, Mom would serve these burgers pretty frequently (I think) and provided a homemade tartar sauce as a condiment.

I remember not liking them much as a kid (sorry Mom) but recently for some strange reason I have been craving them. I love salmon and yet never asked Mom until recently for her recipe.

I believe that all our individual tastes evolve as we grow up and I cannot remember when exactly I started to enjoy salmon at all. The taste conversion occurred many years ago to be sure and I'll give Mom credit for planting her salmon burgers firmly in my taste memory.

I do know this -- if Mom made them at all it was because they were very nutritional and could feed a crowd. You may want to revive a recipe or two provided by your Mom via your collection of food memories.

In the meantime, enjoy one of mine. My Moms salmon burgers are delicious and most likely always have been.

Simple Salmon Patties
(Makes 7 or 8) 2 small cans of salmon- (Mom says use Sockeye)- skin, bones removed and drained.
2 eggs
1/2 onion, chopped finely
Parsley (dried or chopped)
1 clove garlic, minced or a pinch of garlic powder
A dash of Soya sauce
1/3 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs (Mom uses dry Pastene brand) -- adjust quantity as needed.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Break up the salmon; mix in eggs and other ingredients. Let mixture sit for five or ten minutes. Form into small patties and fry in oil (your choice) with one or two tablespoons of butter or margarine for nicer browning.

They take just a few minutes on each side, as the salmon is cooked already- maybe ten or twelve minutes in total.

Serve with: Homemade Tartar Sauce -A stirred mixture of mayonnaise and finely chopped sweet onion and dill pickle.