Poke Salmon Burger on an English Muffin Recipe

Lauren Braun Costello (It’s Lauren Of Course, ILOC) according to her Web site, is a Westport, CT-based “classically trained chef, published author, cooking show host, and expert food stylist. She has helped countless people become better, more confident and capable cooks. As host of AOL's cooking series “Pantry Challenge,” Lauren logged more than 5 million views for her show in its first three months, becoming the most popular on AOL’s cooking channel, KitchenDaily.com. She also has made numerous television appearances as a guest on shows including ABC’s The View and WNBC’s Today in New York.”

In June, Lauren posted a photo of her ‘Eggs Benedict with Crab & Key Lime Hollandaise’ recipe on an English muffin on her Instagram, and tagged us after discovering our brand through a search for ‘English muffins.’ After seeing her beautifully presented Eggs Benedict post, Olivia reached out to Lauren, to introduce herself, offer her samples, and see if she would be interested in collaborating on a summer recipe using our Dam Good™ English Muffins.

Lauren was ‘thrilled’ to hear from us, and ‘delighted’ at the idea of a collaboration and samples. So, the next day a Variety Pack of our sourdough English muffins were out the door, and headed to Lauren and her family.

In the meantime, she sent over an overwhelming list of mouth-watering recipes, making it nearly impossible for us to narrow down, let alone choose just one. After much internal team deliberation, we came to an agreement, and selected her 'Poke Salmon Burgers with Pickled Cucumbers, Avocado & Ginger Mayo' recipe.

It wasn’t long after our English muffins arrived that Lauren posted an un-boxing video, a clip of her and her husband taste testing our ‘Cinnamon Swirl’ variety, and shared her promotional code (‘LAURENOFCOURSE’) on her Instagram story… it doesn’t stop there, though! Just days later Lauren posted a series of Instagram stories sharing a ‘Grass-fed Organic Beef Burger with Havarti, Cheddar, and Gouda cheese,’ that she made, and put on a ‘Whole Wheat’ Dam Good™ English Muffin. A week later, she posted another Instagram story series, showing her followers her step-by-step process on how she makes a ‘fold-over egg and cheese.’ Lauren decided that she was going to make a ‘fold-over egg and cheese sandwich’ because she’s ‘putting it on a Dam Good™ English Muffin, and Dam Good™ English Muffins are square!’ This time, her son and taste tester, threw his hands up after taking his first bite and said, ‘oh it’s so dam good’ - we got a kick out of his reaction. And there she had it, a ‘breakfast sandwich of dreams, of champions.’

Shortly after, Lauren made her “Poke Salmon Burger with Pickled Cucumbers, Avocado & Ginger Mayo,” recipe on a vegan sourdough 'Original White' Dam Good™ English Muffin.

On Tuesday, 8/11, she published the full recipe to her Web site and posted it on her Instagram! Sean, her husband and taste tester, said, "the flavor is amazing, but how it goes with the English muffin is fantastic too because its light, its not too much dough but it's got this great intuitiveness." When Lauren asked Sean what he thought of the sourdough with Ginger Mayo and Pickled Cucumbers he said, "You can taste the sourdough and it stands up to all the interesting flavors inside the sandwich." Lauren replied, "its a Dam Good match made in heaven!" 

Below we have shared Lauren’s “Poke Salmon Burger with Pickled Cucumbers, Avocado & Ginger Mayo” recipe for you to enjoy:

“Made fresh or from leftover poke, this burger is so "dam good!"


These delicious poke burgers are served atop the best English muffins there are: Dam Good English Muffins. Square in shape with a mild sourdough aroma and taste, these muffins make perfect burger buns. The following recipe yields four burgers with all the fixings, but if you have leftover poke - salmon or tuna - just jump to Step 4 and proceed from there. Order your Dam Good English Muffins and use the 10% off coupon code LAURENOFCOURSE (drop the ITS)!

Equipment: cutting board; chef's knife; mixing bowls; rubber spatula; wet and dry measuring cups; measuring spoons; food processor; nonstick pan; pastry brush; offset spatula; whisk; toaster


Pickled Cucumber Ingredients:

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cucumber, thinly sliced crosswise


Ginger Mayo Ingredients:

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon ginger juice

2 teaspoons chopped pickled ginger


Poke Burger Ingredients:

1½ pounds wild King salmon, skinless

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon mirin

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 small sheets or ½ large sheet nori (seaweed), chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

¼ cup sesame seeds (black and/or white)

vegetable oil


Garnish Ingredients:

1 avocado, quartered and sliced

4 Dam Good English muffins, toasted


1. First prepare the pickled cucumbers. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, water, and salt, mixing well until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the cucumber slices, mix well to coat, and set aside.


2. To prepare the ginger mayo, combine mayonnaise, ginger juice, and pickled ginger. Set aside.



3. Next, prepare the poke. Cut the salmon into 1-inch pieces and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, and garlic. Stir in the salmon pieces, mixing well to coat, and then add the chopped nori. Sprinkle with optional red pepper flakes for a little heat.



4. In a food processor, pulse the poke mixture anywhere from 6-12 times until a mostly smooth paste forms, with some small chunks of salmon remaining.

In a food processor, pulse the poke mixture anywhere from 6-12 times until a mostly smooth paste forms, with some small chunks of salmon remaining.



5. Divide the poke mixture to form four burger patties and set aside. Sprinkle each patty on both sides with sesame seeds. Brush the top of each patty evenly with vegetable oil.



6. Heat a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the poke burgers, greased side-down, to the pan. Brush the tops of the burgers with vegetable oil and cook for 3-4 minutes before turning. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary so that the oil does not smoke and the sesame seeds do not burn. If your pan cannot hold all four burgers at once, cook in batches.



ILOC tip: brushing the burgers with oil instead of adding oil to the pan means that you'll save on ingredients and calories by using only the amount of oil you need, right where you need it - on the fish flesh. It's all about technique, not torture!

7. Remove the burgers from the pan and set aside. Place avocado slices on each toasted English muffin bottom, then top with a poke burger. Place pickled cucumber slices on top of each poke burger and drizzle each with 2 tablespoons of ginger mayo. Top with the toasted English muffin tops and enjoy!



Makes 4 burgers."




If you don’t already follow ILOC on Instagram, go follow her, and while you’re at it, check out her Blog for more of her creative, fresh, and delicious recipes.

We are so grateful to have met Lauren, and look forward to one day meeting her in person for a VIP tour of our bakery some day soon!

Recipe and photo credit: Lauren Braun Costello, ‘It’s Lauren, Of Course!’

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