I adore burgers. In the summer our burgers need not be made indoors; they are slapped on the BBQ in our backyard and on the grill over our campfires. I am very fond of the standard, classic burger but as I was preparing to write this post it occurred to me that perhaps we could take the burger and create burgers to represent the flavours of our fabulous Canadian regions. What would the Manitoba or the Yukon burger taste like? So here it is, a walk throughout Canada, one glorious burger at a time.
The Yukon Caribou Burger - In the Yukon Dall sheep, mountain goat, caribou and even porcupine are often eaten as burgers; have you noshed a porcupine? Use the ground caribou as a beef substitute in your favourite burger recipe but for every 454g (1 lb.) of caribou add 113g (4oz) of pork; caribou meat is very lean. Serve on a sourdough bun. If you are ever cruising the streets of Dawson City and are not faint at heart, you may wish to have a glass of the infamous Sour Toe cocktail ...or perhaps not.
The British Columbia Salmon Burger - The Pacific Ocean yields a vast selection of seafood for west coast fishing industry including salmon (coho, spring, chum, sockeye and pink). According to wikipedia, the salmon burger was invented by Peter A. Jensen of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, but this fact is not confirmed. I found for you 2 tasty recipes; one from fresh water fishing Canada and the other from Canadian House and Home magazine from Buy Canadian First member, Magazines Canada. Serve on a whole grain bun accompanied by a herbed fruit salad. Choose from a vast selection of fruit grown in the province that include apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, strawberries, blackberries, bing cherries and loganberries and add some mint, rosemary, chives and /or cilantro.
The Alberta Beef Burger - Ahh, Canada's cowboy country! How can it be anything but a big fat juicy sirloin burger? The Canadian Beef web site has a wide selection of beef recipes including this tasty inside out sirloin bacon cheese burger . The cheese and bacon are hidden inside the patty and on top is a mountain of sauteed mushrooms and onions...yumm!
The Manitoba Bison Burger - The bison is Manitoba's symbol and they roamed the priairies as early as 4000 BC. Sadly, as our prairie landscape was peppered with roads and railway lines, the bison were all but hunted to extinction by the late 1800's. Today we have a herd of wild wood bison that live in our Interlake region but most of our bison are farmed livestock. Bison is a dense meat that is high in iron and protein and low in fat and calories. I dare you to resist this recipe for Bison Burgers with Gorgonzola Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes from Best Health . You just put gorgonzola on your shopping list, didn't you?
The Newfoundland Cod Cake Burger -Usually these little patties are served with a side of coleslaw, fiddleheads, chow chow or with spinach with hollandaise sauce and sliced hard boiled eggs. Any of these tasty sides could accompany your fish cake in the bun; imagine a cod cake burger with a scoop of creamy coleslaw on top or some fried cabbage and chow chow. The possibilities are endlessly delicious!
Cod Fish Cakes (Serves 6) from Northern Aqua Farms.com
Ingredients
1 lb. salt cod freshened, cooked and flaked;
2 tbs. margarine;
1 medium finely chopped onion,
6 raw potatoes
1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. Pepper, 1 tbs. savoury.
Directions
Freshen salt cod by soaking it overnight by covering in cold water. Drain and place in a stew pot and cover with fresh water. Bring to simmer with low heat. Drain. If the fish is still too salty, add fresh cold water, and bring to simmer again, and drain.
Boil potatoes until tender and then mash.
Heat margarine in a frying pan until hot.
Add chopped onions and cook until translucent.
Blend cooked onion into mashed potatoes together with cooked flaked cod, savoury, salt, pepper.
Shape into cakes and dust lightly with flour.
Fry in a small amount of heated margarine 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown.
Serve hot, with freshly baked home made bread or rolls and butter and a garden salad.
Note: I have subsituted crab, salmon, Arctic char, tilapia and other fish in this recipe. If it isn't salted fish skip the freshen part and cook only once.
The great Canadian Veggie Burger - I could not complete this post without addressing the wonderful veggie burger, especially for Buy Canadian First's very own Melissa Thibodeau. My favourite veggie burger of all time is from the Underground Cafe, 
a restaurant in downtown Winnipeg's exchange district. It is called the Sunburger and, in my opinion, it is the grand pubah of the veggie burger realm. Of course we can't all live in Winnipeg so for you I will share this tasty recipe from Food Network Canada.
Happy Grilling and summer worshipping, Canada, and don't forget to eat your burgers! Of course you must tell us {me} what your favourite burger is, and what sort of delectables you place upon it? Give up your treasured family burger secrets, everyone {ME} wants to know!
xo
