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Salmon Cakes

My mom would often tell me that, even as a young child I had an adult palate. I would eat anything. She often made Salmon Cakes and I loved them. This week, I decided to make them to share with you. I believe they turned out very well. My mom was pleased and so was my sister. 

Salmon cakes go well with mashed potatoes, peas and of course, corn muffins. I grew up eating salmon cakes with this same exact meal. Oh, and I almost forgot, with a dash of hot sauce on the salmon cakes and the mashed potatoes. 

Salmon Cakes

4 from 10 votes
Recipe by Madison Course: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

  • 32 ounces 32 canned salmon, deboned

  • 1/2 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

  • salt and pepper, to taste

  • 2 large 2 eggs

  • 1/2 cup 1/2 breadcrumbs

  • 3 tablespoons 3 flour, for coating the outside of the patties

  • 2 tablespoons 2 olive oil

Directions

  • To a large bowl, mix together the deboned salmon, finely diced yellow onion, salt, pepper, eggs, and breadcrumbs.
  • Shape the mixture into 8 to 10 equal sized patties and coat each side with a little bit of flour.
  • To a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook all the salmon cakes for 4 minutes per side.
  • Remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel lined tray.
  • Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

When I was young, I never understood why my mom would say that making salmon cakes was a labor of love. I now see why. Like her, I used canned salmon. It took well over an hour, just to pick all of the bones and shells out of the salmon. Some people use fresh salmon, but I think salmon cakes are more flavorful in the can. You might have to experiment with both, to see what works for you.

I get so much joy out of cooking. Of course, I usually like to keep it simple to save time in the kitchen. However, for this salmon cake recipe, I will make an exception, and I hope you do too. Picking the bones out of the canned salmon is tedious, but worth it. 

I learned that some people call salmon cakes, salmon croquettes and, or salmon patties. I am guessing the way it was originally said in your household, is the way you say it today. Also, the ingredients that are used may vary. I decided to emulate the way my mom always fixed them.  

I used two cans of salmon for this recipe. Each can yields about four to five salmon cakes. I made eight medium-sized cakes out of the two cans. If you choose to use only one can of salmon, then, be sure to half your ingredients. Once I removed all of the bones and shell out of the salmon, I placed the salmon in a bowl. I then added my ingredients. I used a pinch of salt, pepper, onion, bread crumbs and eggs to form the salmon in a patty cake form. Fish is already salty, so you won’t need any more than a pinch of salt, if you even choose to use salt at all. I then placed a piece of wax paper down on the counter and sprinkled the wax paper with a dust of flour. Every time I formed a salmon cake, I placed the cake on the floured waxed paper. 

Once all of the cakes were formed and placed on the waxed paper, I sprinkled the top with a little more flour to prepare for frying. Feel free to place these in the oven as well.  You may choose to use flour or not, for the oven baked version. It is a personal choice. I hope your palate enjoys this recipe as much as mine did!

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8 thoughts on “Salmon Cakes”

  1. This sounds like my gmas receipe except she would take a fork and crush the bones of the salmon. Extra calcium she would say. They were so good.

  2. I put the salmon in my food processor, as well as celery and onions. The bones are all chopped up and we never detect them in the finished product. So much easier!

  3. They have always been called salmon croquettes in our family. The recipe fails to mention NOT to drain the canned salmon; the liquid is important. I do remove the larger vertebrae bone, but mash the other bones which are calcium rich. Instead of breadcrumbs, I use matzoh meal which (to me) gives the croquettes a less mushy texture. (Matzoh meal can be found in the Kosher aisle in most places year round in a box or round container.) Also, I’ve never coated the croquettes in flour or anything and fry them in canola oil. They result in a lovely crisp surface. Lastly, for those who are preparing salmon cakes for the first time, it would be helpful to say which SIZE cans you reference, since canned salmon comes in two different sizes;
    I believe approximately 14.75 Oz. and 7.5 Oz. The croquettes/cakes are delicious and healthy for breakfast, lunch or dinner to build a meal around whether hot or cold!

  4. Love salmon patties! I always made them the way the salmon came out of the can….bones and all! Made them for my Grandson and he did not like the bones and would never touch them again even though I pulled all the bones and pieces. Oh well, more for me!!

  5. I have never made salmon cakes before. However, looking over this recipe, it seems like an easy way to create tasty salmon cakes. I am
    eager to try to make this recipe for a healthy fish dish that would taste good too.

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