THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

[kell]

Does anyone have a really killer recipe for salmon croquettes or patties? The recipe I have uses canned salmon (gotta remove all the gunk) and usually falls apart when cooking 'em. I have two of the 7.1 oz packages on skinless boneless salmon to work with. My DH and I say thanks in advance for all replies :D

[jfield]

Hi, Kell.

I'm not a fish fan, but I searched around a bit and found a couple of links to recipes that you might like:

http://chitterlings.com/salmon-croquettes.html
http://southernfood.about.com/od/salmonrecipes/r/bln196.htm
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/006149salmon_patties.php

Good luck. I hope someone who likes fish has a good recipe for you!

[Dilbert]

Kell -

I've killed a few salmon patty recipes,,, does that count?

the falling apart bit is always a challenge - here's what I've found to work:

I use canned red alaskan - 14.x ounces
drain like really well! loose moisture is not good . . .
I pick out the big back bone chunks, but the rest is used.
using a pair of forks, break up flesh to small chunks. do not chunkize fish until it is well drained - otherwise it retains the can juice and gets soggy.
two fresh eggs - beaten. I emphasize fresh because getting a homogeneous beating with goopy white stringy schufft is not easy.

seasoning / flavoring

babbling along: salmon has sufficient flavor of its own that one can only only enhance / add - anything tending "overpower" the basic salmon flavor will probably not work too well.

salt, fresh ground pepper
I like a small dice green pepper - a mix of red&green is cute - about 2 tblsp per can - too much fosters the breaking up problem.
I always use finely diced scallion or shallot. leeks are to mild mannered; takes too much "regular" onion to get a bite to it.
optionals: dried dill; celery seed, Old Bay, cayenne, paprika - pick one or two, not all.

put the drained salmon in a large flat bottom bowl, season - put in everything you're gonna - minimize the mixing & mashing bit
pour over the beaten egg
use a flat/cupped spatula to fold the egg mixture in.

when it looks well incorporated - walk away! - let it stand for 10-15 minutes.

post let-it-be, check for how moist / loose the mixture is; add bread crumb to adjust consistency. a bit on the damper side is better than the looser side.
I only recommend either home made from stale artisan or panko - NOT the powder bread talcum powder in a can.....

form the cakes - store on a big plate - refrigerate to setup - 30 minutes min. - more doesn't hurt - it can help with time management to do ahead.

then pan fry / saute - I often flop them in panko crumbs just for crunchy crust. pop in pan - leave alone! for 4-5 minutes at a moderate sizzle so the egg binder sets up.

I also use a two spatula approach for flipping - I can break anything . . .

[jfield]

Nice discussion of technique, Dilbert! One question for you (coming from a non-seafood-lover but a meatloaf-lover): could 2 eggs be too much for a can o'salmon? I know whenever I make a meatloaf I only use 1 egg, and there's way more meat than in a can o'salmon. My experience has been that, the more you have to mix, the denser and tougher your patties/loaves tend to be. Using less egg would minimize the mixing time--less egg to mix in.

Again, not a fish expert, so what are your thoughts?

[Dilbert]

Jenni -

I agree entirely on the "too much can do harm" egg thing - and I've experienced that with meatloaf.

out of complete desperation I disobeyed all the "standard concepts" with the salmon patties trying to get something that works.

that was actually the source of the "folding" technique and the "wait&adjust with bread crumbs" - two eggs is a bit on the loose side when it initially goes in.

the folding does a good job at distributing for an all over coating - protein hot melt glue...
the bread crumbs pickup any leftover surface moisture.

I think that's how it's working....

[jfield]

Alrighty, then! I like it.

Maybe that is a general fault with most folks' patties/meatloaves: too much mixing + too many additives = either dense pellets or gloppy mess.

Folding is such a useful technique, and much easier on the ingredients than squishing and guishing :lol:

[kell]

Thanks Dilbert ... I can see you've done much research on salmon patties!! I have picked up a number of helpful hints from you ... the most profound being the folding, the walking away and then adding crumbs. and refrigerating. You have certainly given me something to work with, especially timely since my DH was just asking about salmon patties last evening. :mrgreen:

[Dilbert]

salmon patties and grits are a staple comfort food in our house <g>

the folding methinks coats the fish-chunkies better than mix&mash - perhaps the increased surface area coated explains why the egg amount works?

hope it works for you, too!