Sunday, February 26, 2017

Tuna Burgers


Eat canned tuna they said.  It's delicious they said.  It's healthy they said.  It's packed with protein they said.  It's so cheap they said.  It's full of iron and potassium they said.  It's low fat they said.  It's such a mild flavor they said.


Here's what they aren't telling you: canned tuna is nasty.   I spent much of my early adult years trying to like canned tuna, trying to buy in to the hype.  One million batches of barely eaten tuna salad later, I turned my back on the whole affair and banned canned tuna from my life.

Some years ago I made a trip to NYC with friends.  On our last day, we wandered through the streets of Manhattan looking for something to eat.  We settled on the Heartland Brewery and ordered a round of backporch lemonade.  I spied an ahi tuna burger on the menu "sashimi grade tuna, sesame oil, light wasabi sauce and ginger slaw".  It was heaven and set me on the course to find something similar at home.  I don't have the bravery or the skills to serve raw fish at home, so I knew I was looking at a cooked version.  Many trials later, I stumbled on a weight watchers inspired recipe with canned tuna and decided to try it in spite of my misgivings.  I ended up with something that is of course no competition to the Heartland, but is perfectly lovely and oh so practical.

These are good fresh off the stove for dinner and reheat very well in the microwave for a brown bag lunch that will be the envy of your coworkers.  In other words, it's everything that the Birchwood Pie Project is about.




Ingredients:
Yield: 3 burgers
Recipe from Beth's Journey
  • Two 5-oz cans of tuna in water
  •  3 green onions
  • 1 carrot
  • ½ cup panko
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Method:
 Start with the unpleasant part.  Open the tuna cans and drain out as much liquid as possible

Grate the carrot

Chop the onions

Mix the panko, carrot, onions, soy sauce, and rice vinegar in a bowl.

Add the tuna

Add the eggs

Give everything a good mix.

Get hands on and shape the mixture into patties

Heat a lightly oiled skillet on medium until it sizzles

Cook the burgers four minutes per side

Add your desired sides and toppings.  Sweet potato fries and wasabi mayo are my go-to's.

Chomp 'em up.

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