Salmon Burgers

This was truly GROSS! what other vivid adjective can I use to describe this absolutely terrible recipe? I wouldn't feed this to my cat! (If I had one--and they probably wouldn't eat it either!). I generally love tarragon, but it does NOT mix well with salmon. In my opinion. A salmon burger is probably better spent by grilling in it's true form with a lemon and basil butter and served plain and simple on a bun. This was a pretentious recipe and came through with the first bite. Shame on you Cooking Light for offering it up in your magazine.
Salmon! It's so good for you! Full of Omega 3's you can't get enough. I read recently that people should eat meats high in Omega 3 two times a week to be heart-healthy. In Alaska, we do not have a shortage of this wonderful resource. Who knew salmon could be turned into ground meat? How silly am I? After 7 years of living in AK, one would have thought that I would have figured out how to do this....NOPE! Not until today. Now salmon puts a whole new dimension on my way of thinking about ground meat and what to do with it. The idea of salmon burgers is not mine. I got the recipe from Cooking Light Magazine, July 2010 and I tweaked it for myself. I didn't pay attention to the "don't do the tail section" part because the tail is my favorite piece. Freddies didn't have arugula so I will use my own homegrown lettuce instead. It will be better anyway. BTW....I divided the recipe in 1/2....it's just Jim and I and I only wanted 2 burgers! So, if you need more than 2 burgers you should double the recipe.

1 lb. skinless, boneless salmon (yep our Copper River Red) cut into 1" pieces
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 TBSP Pike Place Fish Northwest Seafood Seasoning (use 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1 tsp. dill weed, 1/4 tsp. kosher salt and black pepper if you can't get this)
1/2 TBSP honey
1 tsp. chopped fresh Tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp. chopped shallots
1 cup arugula leaves (I used Romaine)
1/4 cup thin sliced red onion
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 hamburger buns (I like the black poppy seed ones Cooking Light recommended)

Put half the salmon in a food processor with the mustard and Pikes seasoning (or your combination). Puree until it is a mushy/paste (this is the "binder" for your burger). Next, add the rest of the 1" cubed salmon and pulse for about 6 pulses....you don't want the whole mix mushed to a pulp!

Transfer to a bowl and mix in chopped Tarragon and shallot.

Shape into patties and refrigerate for a bit. Spray each side of your patties with oil and grill on medium heat carefully turning until they are done. Top each patty with honey-mustard and arugula. Serve on warmed hamburger buns with thin slices of red onion. Nothing else needed except for maybe a cold beer.