We love salmon in our house and Fresh Salmon Cakes are a fantastic way to enjoy this versatile fish. These salmon fish cakes are great for an impressive appetizer course or served with a fresh salad as a light entree.
We buy a whole side of fresh salmon at a time, particularly these days, trying to limit trips to the market. A side of salmon gets cut up into 4 ounces fillets. Then fillets are then plastic wrapped for storage in the freezer. If properly packaged and stored they should last 3 or 4 months. Inevitably this means that there are irregular “trim cuts” leftover. Trim cuts are pieces that are really not thick enough or big enough for a regular serving portion. Be never fear, there is no waste. And yes, you can store these in the freezer too.
I save these pieces up until there is enough to use in recipes where you don’t really care about even portion sizes or shapes. New England Seafood Chowder is also a great use for leftover fresh fish cuts.
Fishcake Trivia
So What Is a Fish Cake?
The Oxford Dictionary of Food and Nutrition defines fish cakes as chopped or minced fish mixed with potato, egg, and flour with seasonings of onions, peppers, and sometimes herbs.
This recipe for salmon fish cakes is a little lighter than what you might expect from the traditional recipe since no potato or flour is used.
By the way, we use fresh salmon for this recipe but there is really no reason to substitute any fresh, flakey fish. Don’t like salmon? Can’t get salmon? Haddock or cod would be a great alternative.
A Way to Use Up Leftovers
The fishcake has long been seen as a way of using up leftovers that might otherwise be thrown away.
In Mrs Beeton‘s 19th century publication Book of Household Management, her recipe for fishcakes calls for “leftover fish” and “cold potatoes”. Our Fresh Salmon Cakes are updated to use fresh fish and we skip the potatoes. Using “leftover” pieces is the inspiration from the original recipes.
Been tossing out those little bits you trim off the fillets you bought at the fish market? Save them up in the freezer for future use! Don’t have any leftover salmon bits? Just buy a few fillets just for this recipe. Either way works great.
Fish Cakes Around the World
You may think that the fish cake is an American or relatively new presentation. Neither is true. The fish cake has a long history. Many cuisines around the world have their own versions influenced by local tastes and seafood availability.
Traditional New England Fish Cakes
Certainly, if you grew up in the New England area you are familiar with the cod and potato-based fish cake. I grew up with them on the table and still see them on restaurant menus locally. The traditional cod cake has evolved over time as overfishing caused shortages. Haddock and pollock have been substituted into the classic fish cake as the cod population tries to recover.
China
Not surprisingly, China is thought to have a 4000 year old history of fish cakes. Again, according to the contributors over at Wikipedia:
Fish cakes have had more than 4000 years’ history. In ancient times, an emperor called Shun traveled to Southern China with his two wives. After a long period of travel, his consorts were tired and had poor appetites. This caused Shun to worry, and he searched for ways to resolve the problem. A fisher called Bo came and gave Shun his fish cakes. Shun’s consorts really enjoyed them, and their appetites returned to normal. Shun was so pleased that he asked the fisher Bo to teach other people how to make fish cakes, so everyone can enjoy food even when they have poor appetites. Fish cakes then became popular in China.
South Korea
In South Korea, fish cakes called eomuk or odeng are sold on street carts. Made from corvina or cuttlefish with the addition of sugar and starch. Combined with onion, carrot, and cooking wine, they are deep-fried and served on a skewer.
Fish Cakes are a Flexible Food
The variations on the fish cakes are too many to list here. Like many sizzle&STEM recipes, these salmon fish cakes are really just a big hint. Want to swap out the salmon for another fish? Go for it. Got some lump crab kicking around? This recipe works great with crab.
Fresh Salmon Cakes taste great with Homemade Tartar Sauce
If you invent your own take on this recipe we would love it if you share. Just send us a note in the comments. We’d love to hear all about it
Fresh Salmon Cakes
Course: AppetizersCuisine: SeafoodDifficulty: Easy4
servingsServe with Homemade Tartar Sauce and a lemon wedge for an opening plate sure to impress.
Ingredients
- To Prep Salmon
3/4 LB 3/4 Fresh Salmon
2 TBSP 2 Olive Oil
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper (To taste)
- To Prep Vegetables
2 TBSP 2 Butter (Unsalted)
2 TBSP 2 Olive Oil
1/2 Cup 1/2 Celery (Chopped fine)
1/3 Cup 1/3 Scallions (White and Green parts, chopped fine)
1/4 Cup 1/4 Fresh Parsley (Chopped fine)
1/2 1/2 Poblano Pepper (or regular green pepper) (Chopped fine)
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper (To taste)
- To Assemble Salmon Cakes
3/4 Cup 3/4 Mayonnaise
2 2 Eggs (Large)
1 TBSP 1 Dijon Mustard
6 Drops 6 Tabasco (or other hot sauce)
1 TBSP 1 Old Bay Seasoning (or Zartarian’s Crab Boil)
1 TBSP 1 Worchestershire Sauce
1 Cup 1 Panko Bread Crumbs (or unseasoned regular bread crumbs)
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper (To taste)
- To Saute Salmon Cakes
2 TBSP 2 Butter (Unsalted)
2 TBSP 2 Olive Oil
Process
- To Prep Salmon
- Preheat oven to 350F Deg (175C Deg)
Conversion Formula:
(350°F − 32) × 5/9 = 176.667°C - Spray or brush some olive oil on a sheet pan. Arrange salmon pieces on the pan. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through (120F Deg or 50C Deg internal temp)
- When cooked remove the pan from the oven and allow salmon to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
- To Prep Vegetables
- While salmon is cooling chop vegetables and parsley into small dice.
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Melt 2 TBSP butter and olive oil. Add chopped celery, scallions, peppers, and parsley to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until just softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- To Assemble Salmon Cakes
- Break up cooked salmon into rough flakes in a large bowl. Do not go crazy here you really want to have nice chunks of salmon in the end product.
- Add mayo, eggs, mustard, Tabasco, Old Bay, Worchestershire panko and sauteed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly but gently. Your hands are really the correct tool for this.
- Form mixture into 8 or 9 evenly sized cakes. I find that using an ice cream scoop helps to maintain a consistent size. Using wet hands also makes the process of forming the cakes a little easier. Place the cakes onto a small sheet pan or plate. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the cakes will ensure that they do not fall apart when cooking. (To freeze and save for later see Note 1.)
- To Saute Salmon Cakes
- Melt butter and a swirl of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add salmon cakes to pan. Saute on one side until golden brown and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully flip using a spatula. Cook until golden brown and crispy on the second side and internal temperature is 130F Deg (or about 55C Deg). (for “do-ahead tip” see Note 2)
- Serve with Homemade Tartar Sauce and a lemon wedge if desired.
Notes
- 1. You can also freeze part or all of these cakes at this point. Place sheet pan or freezer-safe plate into the freezer. Once fully frozen carefully remove to a freezer-safe container. The cakes will last frozen for 3-4 months. Before cooking let defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
- 2. A good “do-ahead” is to saute the cakes, remove to an oven-safe plate and hold them in a 250 Deg F (120 Deg C) oven until ready to serve.
Looks GREAT, I have never made a salmon cake, many others, of course the Crab Cake being a favorite having lived in D.C. I will have to make these. Ty
Glad I could turn you on to something new. I bet you have a great crab cake recipe. Want to share?