Fishcakes years ago were made with Cod and mashed potatoes as the basic ingredients. Cod was cheap and a fish cake appeared on many dinner tables on a Friday night.
Now real Cod has almost completely disappeared through over fishing and is being replaced by Pollack and various Cod cousins. These are often sold as Pacific Cod and other clever marketing slight of hand labeling guises. They are not anywhere near as good as the cod that once was such an easily afforded pleasure in all it’s various recipes
Excellent fishcakes still can appear on the table with salmon moving into center stage as the fish in the cake. We are a little more demanding than when that Cod Fishcake was often sold on a roll from a street side stand in Philly with hot dogs as the other menu item.
These Salmon Fish Cakes won’t ever be found on a street side stand but if you taste carefully you might imagine a hint of it’s ancestry from the days when Cod was King.
Salmon Fishcakes
Ingredients:
1 ½ lb salmon fillets (cheapest cut available)
1 ½ tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic chopped fine(optional)
1/3 cup green onions chopped
¼ cup parsley chopped
1tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
¼ tsp Sea salt
¼ tsp pepper
1tbsp Dijon style mustard
2 eggs
1 ½ cup of fine cracker crumbs-unsalted
Preparation:
Step 1. Place Salmon on steamer rack over boiling water for about 7 minutes
Step 2. Cool fish then remove skin and any bones while flaking fish. There should be about 3 cups. Place fish in mixing bowl
Step 3. In a large skillet – sauté green onions & garlic in butter for 2 minutes. Add to fish along with all remaining ingredients..
Step 4. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture and mix all ingredients well.
Step 5. Divide mixture into equal portions. Shape into flat patties.-
Step 6. Place in Fridge for about 1-2 hours covered with clear film
Step 7. Melt butter in skillet and sauté patties in medium–hot skillet. About 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Service: Place on a warm plate with lemon wedges. I keep a bottle of Cholula Hot Sauce nearby
Afterthought: The size of the patties is a personal judgment issue. First look at 3”round and ¾ inch thick and then adjust to your preference. Figure about 8 patties.
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An old favorite of mine, too – but, sadly, not Joe’s. I’ll try your version and see how it compares. I used to thicken mine with 1/2 cup of heavy white sauce to 1 – 7 oz. can of blueback salmon. Never pink salmon which doesn’t compare in flavor. The next time I make my version I’ll dip them in an egg wash and panko crumbs, but I’ll try your version first and see how Joe likes them.
Keep cookin’ and writing.
Peggy Grier Stefanowicz