Fresh Salmon Cakes

While not everyone may have had these, I'm sure everyone has heard of them. But do you even know how hard it was to find a recipe that used fresh salmon. After two dozen recipes that called for a can of salmon flakes, I thought I was going to have to just wing it.

So I left my comfort zone website of dependable recipes and did a search. It was scary, the blue links that just appeared, no pictures to go along with the recipes....

Lucky for you, I put myself through that so you don't have to. I went through a few different recipes and picked the things I liked from them and put it all together.

Here's what happened in my kitchen.

• 2lbs Fresh Salmon, make sure it is boneless.
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Miracle Whip
• 1/4 cup Onion, finely diced
• 2 Green Onion, finely sliced
• 2 Tbsp Parsley
• 3/4 tsp Sea Salt
• Juice and Zest from half a Lemon
• 2 slices White Bread, crusts removed, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour
• 3 Eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 tsp Canola Oil
• 1 cup Bread Crumbs

• Canola Oil, for pan frying

Remove salmon skin, discard.

Finely chop salmon, 1/4-1/3" pieces

In medium bowl, mix salmon bits with Miracle Whip, onions, parsley, salt, lemon juice and zest and bread bits.

Form into patties, you should get 8 or 9 easily from this. If patties are really mushy, or don't really hold their shape, add extra bread or bread crumbs a little at a time until you get the consistency you want.

Place on parchment covered baking sheet.

Place in freezer for 15-20 minutes. This helps them to keep their shape while handling, but it's up to you.

Set out three shallow dishes.

1. The flour
2. The eggs and 2 tsp oil
3. The bread crumbs

Heat your canola oil in a skillet on medium heat. Don't let it smoke.

Run the patties through each of your dishes, ensuring that they are fully coated. 

Cook each patty for 2-3 minutes on each side, they should be a nice golden brown. Not a light shade, but you don't want them to be really dark.

When you take them out of the skillet, rest them on a dish with paper towel to absorb some of the oil that is on them.

Serve as a side with some fresh steamed veggies, or you can use them as salmon-burgers with all the fixings.

If you are planning on making these and saving some for another day, they can be frozen after they go through the three dishes of coating. Just put the patties on a parchment covered cookie sheet and freeze. Once they are solid, you can bag them.  To cook from frozen, adjust your cooking time as required. 

That's my taste on it.