Back in the days when I was living with my parents we ate a lot of fish. Mostly, it was fish we caught during the year because my folks loved to fish on their days off. During the summer, when I was out of school, we would drive down state or over the state line to one of their favorite fishing holes. Perch, trout, catfish and something my mom called butter fish were usually the catch of the day. My parents loved to go deep sea fishing which required taking a chartered boat out for the day. I was too chicken to go on the boat so I would stay home and hope they caught a few flounder that day.
Thinking about those days and eating lots of fish reminded me that one of my favorite meals was salmon croquettes. At least that is what my mom called them. Not quite like chicken croquettes but more like a crab cake made with salmon. The salmon was delicious although I thought it was weird eating soft fish bones. Yeah, my mom used canned salmon like most folks back then. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against canned salmon. I made my first Salmon Patties (as I call them) using canned salmon. I never thought about using fresh cooked salmon for my mom’s version of salmon croquettes.
As I have developed my cooking chops and expanded my creativity, I decided fresh salmon was better than canned salmon. Of course, if I am in the mood for Salmon Patties and fresh salmon fillets are not available, bring on the canned salmon. Yup, I still keep a can in my pantry.
Remember, fresh is always best! However, whether you use fresh or canned salmon I can almost guarantee you will enjoy this very simple but flavorful dish.
Salmon Patties
Ingredients:
3 baked salmon fillets
5 dashes hot sauce
1 egg
1 scallion diced
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp half and half
½ tsp brown mustard
½ tsp dried dill
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp old bay seasoning
Lightly beat egg with half and half then set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Place salmon in a large bowl and flake with a fork. Add bread crumbs, scallions, seasonings and egg mixture. Mix together well then form into patties. Place no more than 4 patties in the skillet to prefer crowding. Brown on both sides until golden then remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Serve with Seafood Sauce shown below.
Seafood Sauce:
3 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp fresh hot salsa
¼ tsp dried dill
¼ tsp Adobo
¼ old bay seasoning
pinch seasoned salt
pinch of black pepper
Mix well. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
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