I just love a good tuna burger. I can remember cooking "Italian Tuna Burgers" in home economics when I was at school. They were lovely and filled with what I thought were exotic ingredients at the time . . . olives, mushroom soup and mozzarella cheese . . . actually they were more like Tuna Melts, but whatever, they were mighty tasty! 
I can remember an old Italian woman in a grocery store one time telling me that the only tuna which was worth buying was Albacore Tuna. It was rather expensive compared to the other tuna, but she really looked like she knew what she was talking about. She said the other stuff was garbage. So I did buy a tin of albacore tuna that time and that was when I learned that she was right. Albacore is the best. That is all I have bought since then. It means we don't have Tuna quite as often as I would like to have it, but it also means that when we do have it, we really enjoy it.
Albacore Tuna is a white tuna, milder in flavour than the other varieties. It doesn't have that metallic or "fishy" flavour that you can find in the cheaper skipjack or yellow fin tunas. It's slightly higher in calories and fat, but it's a good omega-3 fat which helps protect us against heart disease and cancer, so in my opinion . . . it's more than worth that little bit of extra money.
This Tuna burger is quite simple to throw together. There is nothing fancy in them, unless you consider Albacore Tuna to be fancy. There is no mayonnaise . . . just some bread crumbs, grated onion, horseradish, lemon juice, beaten egg, garlic and some seasoning. You could also add finely chopped celery if you wanted to for added colour and crunch.
As you can see it's a lovely meaty tuna burger . . . delicious. I like to melt a slice of cheese over top and serve them in a toasted bun with some mayo (I like the lemon but wasabi would also be great!) sliced tomato and shredded lettuce. One of these makes a nice hearty lunch, or with the addition of some oven chips or pasta or potato salad, a nice and simple supper! This is a deliciously different way of getting your Fish for Friday!
*Tuna Burgers*
Makes 4
Printable Recipe
Quite simply delicious. I can say no more.
2 (225g) jars of solid albacore tuna in spring water, drained (2 (5 oz) tins) and flaked
60g of fine dry seasoned bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 small onion, peeled and grated
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 slices of your favourite cheese
olive oil for frying
To serve:
4 toasted sesame seed buns, split butter and toast under the grill
4 TBS lemon mayonnaise
2 tomatoes thinly sliced
a handful of finely shredded lettuce
Drain the tuna really well and flake it into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, beaten egg, garlic, onion, lemon juice, celery salt, horseradish and black pepper. Shape into 4 nice flat patties, about 1/2 inch thick.
Heat some olive oil in a large skillet. (About once around the skillet) Once it is hot add the tuna burgers. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Carefully flip over and
toast on the second side in like manner, again for five minutes. Place a slice of your favourite cheese on top of each. (I used onion and chive double Gloucester) Pop on a lid and remove from the
burner. Let the cheese melt.
Top the bottoms of each toasted bun with some mayonnaise, the shredded lettuce and a couple slices of tomato. Place the tuna burger, cheese side up on top. Cover with the toasted top
half of the bun and serve. Delicious!
Note: The cheese slices I used on these were a delicious Double Gloucester with Onion and Chives. A Pepper Jack would be pretty tasty too!
Gloucester is a traditional, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire, England, since the 16th century, at one time made only with the milk of the once nearly extinct Gloucester cattle. There are two types of Gloucester cheese: Single and Double; both are traditionally made from milk from Gloucestershire breed cows farmed within the English county of Gloucestershire. Both types have a natural rind (outer layer) and a hard texture, but Single Gloucester is more crumbly, lighter in texture and lower in fat. Double Gloucester is allowed to age for longer periods than Single, and it has a stronger and more savoury flavour. It is also slightly firmer.