They were moist & flavorful without too much breading (so often the problem with fish cakes). We poached the salmon which I think really helped keep the fish moist & easy to form into cakes. I almost baked it but am glad I didn't since, I think the texture would have been very different. Plus poaching takes almost no time which meant these cakes were done in about 30 minutes including prep time. The seasoning of dill & tangy capers complimented the salmon perfectly. We pan fired the cakes with just a small amount of olive oil. They got brown & crispy on the outside with a soft, tender middle. Very tasty on their own but these salmon cakes were even better with an easy spicy mayo, just some mayo mixed with crystal hot sauce. That little bit of heat mixed with the creamy mayo was the extra embellishment that really bumped up the flavor.
Salmon Cakes
3/4 - 1 lb salmon filet
1/2 t dried dill
cayenne
1 1/2 T capers, drained & roughly chopped
4 scallions, chopped
salt & pepper
2 eggs, beaten
3 T bread crumbs plus another 1/2 c or so for dredging
olive oil
Cook your salmon filet. We poached ours but bringing 1 cup of water to a simmer in a large skillet. We added the salmon filet skin down, covered & let it simmer until cooked through, 5 - 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't over cook. Remove from the skillet & let cool.
Flake salmon with a fork making sure to remove any pin bones & skin. Put in a bowl (you should have about 2 cups). Mix in the dill, a pinch or two of cayenne, capers and scallions. Season with a little salt & pepper. Mix in the beaten eggs & 3 tablespoons of bread crumbs. Form the salmon mixture into 2 inch patties & dredge in the remaining bread crumbs.
Coat the bottom of a large non-stick skillet or griddle with a thin layer of olive oil. Heat over medium-high. Place the patties on the skillet & press down with the back of a spatula to flatten a little. Let cook until golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes. Flip & cook the other side until brown, another 2 - 3 minutes.
Serve with a little hot sauce mixed into mayonnaise.
Makes 12 patties
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski
Oh wow, those look fabulous! I love fish cakes. And dill goes perfectly with salmon!
ReplyDeleteLove the crust on these salmon cakes, you hit these out of the park!
ReplyDeleteNow I have a hankering for salmon cakes..... might just have to oblige it!
ReplyDeleteI've been hungry for a good salmon cake and these look so great! I don't make them often because I'm the only one in the house likes them, but I think it's time to make them for myself again!
ReplyDeleteI agree that salmon goes so well with dill and capers. I love the idea of salmon cakes which must be so flavorful and good with the crisp crust.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine was just telling me the other day how she misses the salmon cakes her mom used to make. Think I may have her over and make these for her!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to make salmon cakes a lot when I was growing up - but with canned salmon. I was just thinking about making some soon!
ReplyDeleteI have a bag of frozen salmon fillets that I didn't really care for, but I think they'd work well for this recipe. Thanks for giving me an idea of what to do with them!
ReplyDelete