Say hello to your new all-purpose power protein. Our ground sockeye salmon is the perfect blank canvas of possibility — a nutritious and flavor-forward base to replace the red meat element of all your favorites. Sockeye is known for its rich and bold flavor, which means anything made with ground sockeye will start with a distinctive and robust protein base. Think patties, burgers, meatballs and breakfast hash — all as hearty as they are healthy.
Using ground salmon for things like burgers and patties is a no-brainer. For one thing, it saves you the trouble of removing the skin from the fillet (save the skin to fry up as a snack). You also won’t have to mince down fillets of salmon by hand or in a food processor, streamlining your time in the kitchen. But there are less obvious ways to put ground salmon to delicious use that will put easy-to-make, easy-to-like salmon dishes into your recipe rotation.
Salmon Meatballs
Salmon meatballs really aren’t so different from salmon cakes. They’re smaller and rounder, but otherwise include a similar mix of ingredients. However, making meatballs (as opposed to cakes) opens up a range of recipe possibilities for you that you might not have considered. For example, this recipe from My Modern Cookery suggests serving salmon meatballs in a marinara sauce over pasta.
They’re also perfectly portioned as appetizers. These baked salmon meatballs with a green goddess sauce from Unbound Wellness are a satisfying and healthy appetizer option the next time you want to get a little fancy at home. P.s. along these lines, a sockeye bolognese is also viable!
Salmon Kefta
This recipe from Mica Talmor-Gott is another unexpected reimagination of a salmon patty. Formed on a skewer, salmon kefta are ideal for cooking on a grill. Kefta tend to be spiced heavily, reflecting their rich culinary origins — they’re enjoyed in North African, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and Central Asian cuisines — and cooking the kebabs on a hot grill can really bring out the best of some of these flavors.
Or, for a stovetop recipe for kefta, try making Persian-style meatballs with ground sockeye salmon.
Salmon Sausages
This recipe from Cutterlight for salmon sausages is super simple, essentially requiring ground salmon, some spices, and commercial-grade, heat-safe plastic wrap. To make the sausages, you’ll wrap them in this plastic to form links, then simmer these wrapped links so that the sausages hold their shape and are cooked through. The recipe is easily adaptable, depending on what flavor profile you’re going for; instead of a spicy chili blend, you can use your favorite curry powder, za’atar, jamaican jerk seasoning, or whatever dry flavorings you want to play around with.
Salmon Potstickers
Ground salmon is ideal for using as a filling for something like potstickers — basically, anything petite enough that the filling can be cooked evenly all the way through. This recipe from Food52 uses minced salmon combined with some classic potsticker components like ginger, garlic, and snow peas. Or, for dumplings with serious umami, try our recipe for sockeye gyoza.
Salmon Stuffed Peppers
Or, roast up small peppers with a salmon-cream cheese filling. Start out by preheating your oven to 450F.
Slice small peppers in half lengthwise and discard the seeds; use jalapenos if you like spice, or sweet mini peppers if heat isn’t your thing. Then, make your mix! Combine a couple tablespoons of cream cheese or goat cheese for every 8 ounces of salmon that you use, adding in scallions, capers, herbs, or whatever else sounds good to you, and season this mix to taste with salt and pepper. Use a tablespoon or so to fill up each pepper half.
For some added texture, you can top the stuffed peppers with panko or grated parmesan before putting them in the oven. Roast your peppers for 10 minutes until bubbling hot.
Salmon Gefilte Fish
Homemade gefilte fish is infinitely better than the jarred stuff, and quite easy to make once you’ve got your fish ground down to a fine puree. Carp or pike is the traditional choice, but salmon is a modern alternative that makes this dish a more accessible one to make any time of the year. You can use your package of ground salmon for this all-salmon gefilte recipe from Jamie Geller, scaling it up or down depending on whether you’re cooking for a couple or a crowd.
