There’s more to burgers to beef. Big honking cow burgers are awesome, yes, but every now and then it pays off to let another protein stand in.

Especially when a summer chock full of beefy burgers has left you looking a little bovine yourself. One quarter-pound cooked beef patty contains 192 calories, 12 of them from fat. And while fat won’t make you fat, it can leave you feeling bloated. A quarter pound of wild salmon, by comparison contains 158 calories, five of them fat, and seven more grams of protein than beef.

Wait, salmon burgers?

Like beef burgers, you can cook salmon to a delicious medium-rare and the meat has enough oomph to stand up to stronger flavors, such as umami-packed soy sauce and wasabi mayonnaise. Follow this recipe, expand your burger horizons.

Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayo
Recipe by Michael Lomonaco, executive chef/partner of Porter House New York

What you’ll need:
1 lb. salmon, skin removed, roughly chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp wasabi paste
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 potato buns
4 slices tomato
4 lettuce leaves

How to make it:
1. Form the salmon into 4 tightly packed burger patties. Place them on a plate, cover the plate in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well formed, 1 to 2 hours.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the mayo, soy sauce, and wasabi paste. Refrigerate.
3. Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper. Brush both sides with olive oil.
4. Add the burgers to the grill or grill pan and sear well on both sides, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.
5. Transfer the burgers to the buns and top each with a spoonful of wasabi mayo, a slice of tomato, and a piece of lettuce. Close the burgers. Makes 4 burgers.

*Guy Gourmet Upgrade: Make salmon skin bacon!

If you purchased your salmon fillet skin-on, remove the skin using a chef's knife. Then coat both sides of the skin with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place on a sheet pan. Place the pan in the oven and broil until the skin is crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Stack on the burger. Crunch away.