Catfish "Burgers"

Now I love a good beef burger--served up medium rare with loads of bleu cheese--as much as the next guy. But I recognize it is not healthiest of dinner choices. So I've been experimenting with various kinds of fish sandwiches (such as salmon, tuna) for a healthier "burger"-eating experience. These catfish burgers are my latest creations and really saved that day last Sunday when I felt lucky to get anything on the table.

To try these, start with a medium onion, 2 large cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp of capers and 1/4 bunch of parsley. Place all of these ingredients in a food processor and then pulse until the aromatic vegetables are finely chopped. Then saute this mixture in a saute pan (the bottom pan should be just coated in olive oil) until the onions become translucent. Set the mixture aside to cool. Next you need about 2 1/4 lbs of catfish. Cut the catfish into small bite-sized chunks and then grind in a food processor. You don't want the fish to be pulverized into a paste but you do want to get it into fine pieces (it should look like ground meat).

Remove the ground fish from the processor and place in a large bowl. Add the sauteed onion mixture to the fish. Next add 2 tbsp of mayonnaise and 1 heaping tbsp of dijon mustard. Then add 2 tbsp of Old Bay Seasoning, 1 tbsp of Lawry's seasoning salt, 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs, 1 tsp of lemon juice and cayenne pepper to taste. Make sure that all of the seasonings are incorporated into the fish. Next test the seasonings by sauteing a small amount of the fish mixture (how disappointing it would be to find out after cooking all of the burgers that they need more salt?!). Adjust the seasoning to taste if needed.

Shape the mixture into 5 patties. After shaping each patty, lightly coat it in breadcrumbs. Once all the patties have been shaped and coated in breadcrumbs place them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to firm up. This step is important because it will help the burgers keep their shape during the deep-frying process.

After the burgers have set, deep fry the burgers in canola oil at about 320F. Each burger will take about 5-6 minutes and will take on a deep brown color.

A broccoli slaw is a great complement to this burger--adds a nice texture contrast. To make the slaw I used a store-bought mixture of julienned carrots, broccoli stalks and cabbage and dressed it in a lemon vinaigrette. To make the vinaigrette, add 1/2 tbsp of dijon mustard, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 6 tbsp of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk this mixture to emulsify. Lightly dress the broccoli mixture so that it is just coated in the vinaigrette. Now its time to assemble the burgers.

Slice hearty sesame buns and get them nice and toasty. Spread a bit of tartar sauce on the inside of each bun-top and bottom halves. Then place the catfish burgers on the bottom halves and pile on some of the broccoli slaw. When you've got the bun "lids" on you are ready to eat. I served these burgers with some sweet potato fries and a cold wheat beer.