King Salmon Club Burgers

Ingredients

Crispy Bacon and Grilled Sweet Onion:

12 strips applewood-smoked bacon, each cut in half
1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, Walla Walla, or Maui, sliced into 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick rounds
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Lemon Mayonnaise:

1 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods mayonnaise
3 ounces creamy soft goat cheese, preferably from Coach Farm
2 teaspoons minced or grated fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1/4 cup minced fresh chives

Patties:

2 pounds trimmed skinless king salmon fillets
2 slices Pepperidge Farm white sandwich bread, crusts removed, chopped or processed into very fine crumbs (about 1/2 cup), plus additional bread crumbs if needed
3 tablespoons Hellmann’s or Best Foods mayonnaise
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/3 cup minced sweet onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced or grated fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Avocado oil or grapeseed oil, for forming the patties

Avocado oil or grapeseed oil, for brushing the grill rack, patties, and buns
6 soft unseeded brioche hamburger buns, split
2 ripe Haas avocados
1 lemon, cut in half, for sprinkling on cut avocado
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 large ripe Roma or other plum tomatoes
12 washed and dried Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves

Instructions

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium high.

You should be able to hold your hand about 5 to 6 inches above the rack for no more than 4 seconds.

To make the crispy bacon and grilled onion, place the bacon in a cold cast-iron skillet in a single layer. Place the skillet on the grill to heat. Cook the bacon until golden brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan to a paper towel-lined tray to drain. Remove the skillet from the grill. Brush the onion slices with some of the rendered bacon fat and season with salt and pepper. Grill the onion slices until just starting to soften and color with grill marks, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set aside.

To make the lemon mayo, combine the mayonnaise, goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape the mayonnaise into a medium bowl and use a rubber spatula to fold in the tarragon, basil, and chives. Cover and refrigerate.

To make the patties, remove and discard the pin bones from the salmon and finely chop the fish by hand into 1/4- to 1/3-inch pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Add the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, cheese, onion, tarragon, basil, chives, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lime juice. Fold the mixture together until thoroughly combined. If the mixture seems too wet to hold together, add a tablespoon or two more of bread crumbs. Coat your hands with oil and form the mixture into 6 equal patties that are about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Place the formed patties onto a clean plate.

Brush the grill rack, patties, and cut sides of the buns with oil. Cut the avocados in half, discard the pits, remove the skin, and thinly slice each half. Sprinkle the slices with lemon juice, salt, and pepper and set aside. Cut the tomatoes into 18 thin slices, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Grill the patties for about 4 minutes per side or until cooked through (internal temperature of about 150 degrees). While the patties are cooking, place the buns around the edges of the grill, cut sides down, and toast just until colored.

To assemble the burgers, spread 1 tablespoon of the lemon mayo on the cut side of each bun bottom and 1 to 2 tablespoons on the cut side of each bun top. Place 2 lettuce leaves on each bun bottom and top with 3 tomato slices. Place the patties on the tomatoes. Arrange avocado slices over the patties. Top the avocado with the bacon, followed by the bun tops.