So you might be thinking ‘Didn’t she just review a fish sandwich?’ Yes. Yes, I did, and it had some similar ingredients like sriracha mayonnaise and red cabbage. So why even bother with this Blackened Fish Burger and Sriracha Mayo? Two reasons: 1) It looks and sounds delicious, and 2) My husband agreed to try it. He is so picky about fish that I was shocked when he agreed to try the last fish sandwich. I about fell over dead when he liked it. Now that he has agreed to try another fish sandwich, you better believe I’m not wasting the opportunity!
This blackened fish burger + sriracha mayo is a quick and easy weeknight meal that is healthy and bursting with flavor! Ready and on your table in 30 minutes!
The Ingredients
So this Blackened Fish Burger and Sriracha Mayo does have similar ingredients as the last fish sandwich like red cabbage, sriracha hot sauce, and mayonnaise. And, of course, buns and fish.
Brioche was the main suggestion, so that’s what I went with. Although I did opt for a healthier version with whole-grain brioche buns. Really, you can go with whatever you like.
Sea bass was the suggested fish, but the recipe does give the option of using any firm fish you like. I love sea bass, but it’s really pricey at $30 a pound. I tried to find something a little more budget-friendly and ended up with a nice halibut fillet. It even looks a lot like sea bass and was almost as expensive at $24 a pound. Not much of a savings, but still a savings. Have to stay positive ?
I had the spices and grapeseed oil in my pantry, so the only remaining items on my shopping list were arugula and red (purple) cabbage. Oh, and you’ll need some butter. Tip: It’s not listed with the ingredients, but you’ll need to butter the bread before you toast it.
The Process
I always like to break down recipes to make them easier to handle, so I broke this one into 5 parts:
- Making the rub and prepping the fish
- Prepping the cabbage/slaw
- Making the sriracha mayo
- Cooking the fish and cabbage plus toasting the buns
- Assembly
That made a recipe with 15 steps seem much more manageable. In fact, I would say it was quick and easy at about 20 minutes from start to finish. Here’s how my time was spent:
- 15 minutes to prep
- 6 minutes to cook
- 21 minutes total
The Prep Work
This, as usual, is the bulk of this recipe’s work. I found it all to be very simple and easy to follow with no special equipment needed. First up, preheat the oven and line a sheet pan with foil. Your equipment prep is now done. Oh, and don’t grease the foil (more on that later).
Then I got into the food prep with the rub and added it to the whole fish fillet. Then I cut it into 4 portions and placed it onto a foil-lined baking sheet.
Next up was shredding some cabbage and mixing it with the grapeseed oil and 2 teaspoons of salt. It sounded like a lot of salt, but I went with it. Since my fish was thick enough to cook for 6 minutes, I added the cabbage to the baking sheet and popped it into the oven.
Cooking and Assembly
As the fish and cabbage baked, I mixed up the sriracha mayonnaise and buttered the brioche buns. I toasted the buns during the last 2 minutes of baking, and everything was ready at the same time.
Remember when I told you not to oil the baking sheet? Here’s where that comes in handy. Tip: The fish skin will stick to the foil, so gently sliding a spatula between the fish and the skin will lift it right off skin-free and ready to add to your sandwich.
And since the cabbage was mixed with grapeseed oil, it doesn’t stick at all. Toss the foil and rinse your pan for cleanup. Low key genius.
Assembling my Blackened Fish Burger and Sriracha Mayo was as easy as you would imagine, though it was on the messy side. We aren’t too formal around here, so I just went with it.
