The salmon belly burger from chef Sean MacDonald of Bar Monette and Burgette in Santa Monica swaps beef for fish and pickled cucumbers for turnips in this light, bright take on the smash burger.
To ensure that he achieves maximum smash-ness for these burgers, MacDonald finely minces the fish. The bun is crucial too, he notes. While the restaurant uses house-made brioche, he also recommends soft-fluffy potato buns, which provide “a good ratio of bun to meat.”
For cooking the burgers, find the widest skillet you have so you can smash to the max. You’ll need a wide flat spatula, preferably as wide as your patty. Patty papers also help here (they’re used to help press the burgers); they’re sold at cooking supply stores, but you can also cut 5- by 5-inch squares from parchment paper.
Find salmon belly and loin at fish markets, select grocery stores and Asian markets.
Watch the video below — part of our L.A. Times Food “Chef That!” series — to see how MacDonald makes his salmon belly smashburger.
