The Salmon Croquette

[blue_dolphin]

Salmon Croquettes? Not common at my house. But Tuna Croquettes (made with a mix of saltines and bread crumbs, and formed into little log shapes) were a Friday night dinner regular. My recollection is that the usual sides were mac & cheese (baked, with a crust of the same saltine/bread crumb mix) and green beans.

[rachiesarah]

We had salmon croquettes at least once every 1 to 2 weeks. Always always with real mashed potatoes and frozen spinach. My Mom made them with a slice or two (or a bun or two) of martin’s potato bread torn up and soaked for a little bit in mayo with season all, mixed with egg. Formed into 3-4” round patties and pan-fried…. They were good and my sister and I like them, so I guess that is why we had them often.

About 8 years ago, I asked for the recipe so I could make this seemingly easy dinner, as I never actually saw mom make these.

I bought a large (tall) can of salmon as instructed and truly almost died when I opened the can and saw what I can only think of as vertebrae. I could not believe that this was something so often ate and what was looking at in the can. I had no idea and was shocked… sorry, but I threw out the can and probably ordered out that night. I was not in any way going to touch what was in that can.

Eventually I figured out that for a little bit more, the smaller cans, like tuna, were just salmon, no skin or bones.

Now I always buy a larger piece of salmon that I bake in the oven for dinner, and the next night I take the leftover extra salmon, mix with lots of season all, pepper, martin’s potato bread, mayo & egg, and make them myself. I feel better using the fresh salmon especially since I try to avoid buying farm raised.

My Mom still makes them the best, and I saw a large tall can of salmon the last time iIwas poking around her pantry.

For the interested, we grew up in the 80’s & 90’s, in a suburban mixed neighborhood and conservative jewish home outside of DC.

[JohnRichardson]

Yep. A staple, growing up. My mom was from western Tennessee, and a pretty good cook when she felt like it although in later years she started cooking at a nursing home and generally lost all motivation for cooking at home, or at least in cooking from scratch, and everything became a series of shortcuts unless it was a special occaison. Sadly, I have exactly none of her recipes since she did everything by feel, and I didn't get into cooking until much later...

Her version included the skin & bones unless I whined hard enough about it, or when I was older and picked them out for her. I remembered somewhat liking them but haven't had 'em in at least 15 years, so about a year ago I decided to make something similar. My version basically included canned salmon, egg, some minced cornichons, salt & pepper, panko, and possibly some minced celery and onion. I coated them with dijon mustard and panko, and pan fried them.

I typically served mine on top of a simple green salad topped with a poached egg, or as a sort of burger. It became a regular during-the-week meal for a while, but I haven't made them in a while. It sounds kind of good, maybe it's time to make them again.

[Shel_B]

Since reading this thread about a year ago, I've been making salmon croquettes on a somewhat regular basis. Until recently I used canned salmon, and was satisfied with the results. That's what I grew up with, and it seems that most people use, and most recipes call for, canned salmon.

However, the last two batches were made with fresh salmon (frozen fillets, actually), and the resultant croquettes were very, very good. I'm still working on perfecting the recipe using the fresh fish, and with that in mind, I was wondering who uses fresh salmon when making croquettes.

If you do, what's your technique? Do you cook the salmon first and then mix all the ingredients together before frying the patties, or do you use the raw salmon mixed with the additional ingredients and fry them that way? I've tried both ways and seem to prefer using the uncooked salmon when making the patties.

How have you modified your recipe when moving from canned salmon to fresh?

Thanks ...

[longroper]

How have you modified your recipe when moving from canned salmon to fresh?

Thanks ...

I stole my technique from Cook's Illustrated. Raw salmon, finely diced. Bound with fresh bread and a little mayonnaise. Grated onion, salt, pepper, whatever spices blow your skirt up. Form into patties- the mixture will be very soft and sticky - and put them on a sheet pan. Stick it into the freezer for fifteen or twenty minutes- however long it takes for the patties to firm up a little. You still have to handle them gently when you flour, egg, and panko them. They don't really hold together well until they're fried. The idea is that the fish proteins provide most of the structure as they cook. I do this with every kind of fish, and they take very well to the treatment.

[Shel_B]

I stole my technique from Cook's Illustrated. Raw salmon, finely diced. Bound with fresh bread and a little mayonnaise. Grated onion, salt, pepper, whatever spices blow your skirt up. Form into patties- the mixture will be very soft and sticky - and put them on a sheet pan. Stick it into the freezer for fifteen or twenty minutes- however long it takes for the patties to firm up a little. You still have to handle them gently when you flour, egg, and panko them. They don't really hold together well until they're fried. The idea is that the fish proteins provide most of the structure as they cook. I do this with every kind of fish, and they take very well to the treatment.

Perhaps I'll try flouring and egging them. I use a somewhat similar recipe of my own creation, and press the mixture into 1/2-cup measuring cups, invert cups onto a plate while heating the oil in the skillet. When the oil's hot enough, I press the mixture into patties and add them to the skillet. They hold together well through all the handling. FWIW, I use no mayo, no ground up bread. Maybe if I was doing the flour/egg thing, the extra handling would require more care or refrigeration.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[judiu]

Hmmm, might have to try that with shrimp...

[toolprincess]

We called them salmon patties and I liked them ok. I think I like them more now. My dad also used to make patties with canned mackerel (maybe it was cheaper?). I was not a fan of the mackerel but at my house you ate what was put on the table. In the end I guess that served me well as I am not a picky eater and now have a taste for oily little fish (sardines). I haven't tried any mackerel lately.

[Kim Shook]

I grew up eating them on a regular basis and so did Mr. Kim (we are 54). Both of my parents did also. It was always canned salmon. Mr. Kim’s mother always served it with a sauce made from slightly thinned Campbell’s cream of celery soup (urp). I made mine with canned until suzilightning gave me her recipe for from-fresh salmon croquettes - http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/FISHandSEAFOOD/Suzilightning39s_Salmon_Cakes.html. No looking back now – those things are fantastic! We like them with tzatziki.

[BeeZee]

my Mom made them very occasionally, and she used canned salmon. I didn't watch the prep too closely as a kid...however I'd venture a guess that she would have pulled out any large bones. Had a comfort food yen a couple of weeks ago and ordered "fish cakes" at the local diner, which were probably half bread crumbs. Crispy, fish flavored bread crumb cakes. Kind of disappointing.

[MRE]

I grew up in Illinois and Minnesota with these too. My mother always left the bones in because my dad liked them. As a result of those crunchy bones being left in, my brother and I hated them.

Today, whenever I buy a whole salmon I look forward to the croquettes that I'll make from the carcass scrapings and other trimmings. Sometimes I bread them in panko and deep fry them, and other times I just flour and pan fry them. I usually serve them with homemade tartar sauce, or with roasted red pepper and garlic aioli.

Tuna croquettes are also a favorite of mine. I use canned tuna, and add a little mayo and pepper jack cheese to the mix. I always use panko and deep fry them. I to serve them on a bed of yuppie salad mix with an OJ vinaigrette, Frenched orange slices, and a little jasmine rice. I make a peanut sauce to top them with. They also make for a great burger.

Salmon croquettes have definitely been around a long time. Last night I looked up salmon croquettes in "Southern Cooking" by Mrs. S.R. Dull. The original copyright is is 1928, but my addition is from 1941. Here's Mrs. Dull's take on them.

Salmon Croquettes

Two cups salmon, 1 cup thick white sauce [her recipe for this found elsewhere in the book calls for 1 cup milk, 2-4 tablespoons of butter. and 4-6 tablespoons of flour], few grains cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, grated rind of lemon.

Flake salmon, removing any bones, add seasoning, drop on a platter portions large enough for croquette. Set aside to get firm. When ready to fry, crumb, roll in egg, crumb again, fry in deep fat.

She offered several different croquette recipes, and a couple paragraphs of general advice on how to make good ones. Her book is a fun read, but would likely be a complete disaster for a novice cook.

Edited February 9, 2014 by MRE (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Salmon patties were definitely a favorite of mine when growing up.

I still have then at least a couple times a month but now modified to be relatively low starch, low sugar.....a little cream cheese, egg, ohneeyohn, and black pepper. Not bad!!!

 

 

[Anna N]

Salmon patties were definitely a favorite of mine when growing up.

I still have then at least a couple times a month but now modified to be relatively low starch, low sugar.....a little cream cheese, egg, ohneeyohn, and black pepper. Not bad!!!

 

 

I love them too but what is "ohneeyohn"? Google didn't help.

[Plantes Vertes]

Onion

[Martin Fisher]

Yeah, sorry, I learned that from Justin Wilson. 

[Anna N]

Onion

Thanks. It's early in the morning but I doubt that made much difference.

[rotuts]

I remember Justin

 

Oooooooooooooooooo  Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !

[Shel_B]

What is the purpose of adding mayonnaise to salmon croquette ingredients?

[Smithy]

What is the purpose of adding mayonnaise to salmon croquette ingredients?

It helps bind the ingredients. You'll notice that some recipes use bread crumbs and some use eggs, largely for the same purpose although each has its own effect on flavor and moisture.

[Shel_B]

It helps bind the ingredients. You'll notice that some recipes use bread crumbs and some use eggs, largely for the same purpose although each has its own effect on flavor and moisture.

 

Many of the recipes I looked at contained mayo as well as bread or bread crumbs and eggs.  So mayo must be used for flavor and moisture in those recipes, as well as a binding agent, yes?  Would a low fat mayo behave differently than a full fat mayo?  I'll be using a full fat mayo in my next batch of salmon burgers, so I'm more curious than anything.

[Smithy]

Many of the recipes I looked at contained mayo as well as bread or bread crumbs and eggs.  So mayo must be used for flavor and moisture in those recipes, as well as a binding agent, yes?  Would a low fat mayo behave differently than a full fat mayo?  I'll be using a full fat mayo in my next batch of salmon burgers, so I'm more curious than anything.

It will change the flavor and texture somewhat, but I'm not sure how much. Low-fat mayo usually has more sweetener to compensate for the flavor lost by reducing fat. Sometimes it also has an extra thickener. Somebody else probably knows more about the effects; we can hope they'll chime in.

[maritime gal]

Hi everyone.

I came across your discussion a couple of years ago when doing some research on the Argo canned salmon advertising and "educational experiment" held by the Alaska Packers Association (APA) early in the 20th century. It was quite exciting to read how many people who grew up eating croquettes from the Argo How to Eat Canned Salmon Cookbook decades after this "experiment" had ended. As one of the writers mentioned, her Mom insisted the canned salmon be Argo and she could no longer find it. Alaska Packers stopped canning Argo canned salmon by 1910, but their recipe books, which were pocket sized, stayed in families for years.

My interest in canned salmon came about due to a series of cookbooks published by the Alaska Packers that are now in the museum collection at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park where I work. Recently I wrote an article for our web site describing the history of these cookbooks and the grand "experiment" the APA ran early last century. That experiment was conducted in parts of the South, Midwest, New England, and New York City - many of the places people on this thread or their parents came from.

Anyone interested in a bit more information about why and how your parents came to use and serve canned salmon can read the Argo canned salmon story at http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/how-to-eat-canned-salmon.htm.

I've enjoyed reading your comments. hope you enjoy learning a bit more about those canned salmon croquettes and how they became your "family favorites."

[ruthcooks]

My mother may have made salmon loaf a few times, but never croquettes.  We always ate canned salmon (red, never pink) straight from the can, with fried potatoes, bread and butter and either applesauce or apple butter for the bread.  Never heard of anyone else who ate it this way.  

This was back in the 40s and 50s.

Edited October 31, 2014 by ruthcooks (log)

[ChefPip]

This brings back childhood memories.   One of the first more advanced items I cooked with my grandmother were Salmon Croquettes. 

 

Her recipe was much like that which jaymes posted in post #49

1 16-oz can salmon, not drained, flaked, bones removed or crushed (as I said, we used left-over wild Atlantic salmon that we had grilled the night before, and that greatly improved the flavor and texture of the final product)1 small white or yellow onion, grated2 T minced flat-leaf Italian parsley2 large eggs, beatenblack pepper to taste1 to 1 1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs3 tablespoons butter

I believe we used some thawed frozen peas in ours.

 

Grand mother had a deep fryer and she set it up outside the house  and brought it up to temp.

 

Then she showed me a small metal funnel with a coffee cup type handle on the side of it.   We greased it to use as a mold

and set the croquettes on a cooking sheet which would go into the refrigerator when we had all of the mixture formed.

These were rolled in flour and bread crumbs just before we fried them. The finished croquettes were conical and about

three inches across the bottom and stood about three inches tall.  These were then stored in the Oven set to warm while the

other dinner items were prepared. 

 

But that was big stuff when I was about 11 years old.  Every time I hear Salmon Croquettes it brings back that memory.where my

fascination with cooking probably started.. 

[Ann_T]

 

I make my Salmon Patties/croquettes/cakes with mashed potatoes. 

 

Salmon Patties
==============
2 cans red sockeye salmon (or fresh cooked salmon)
1 1/2 cup soft fresh breadcrumbs
1 to 2 tsp of dijon mustard
1/3 cup chopped green onion
2 potatoes mashed
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Pinch of Thyme
1 egg beaten
1/4 parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
.

Flake salmon in a mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup bread crumbs, green
onions and mustard and mashed potatoes. Mix with fork until well
blended. Add beaten egg, thyme, parmesan cheese, parsley, and salt and
pepper.

Shape mixture into patties. Mixture will be very soft. Add more bread
crumbs if necessary. Cost patties with remaining bread crumbs. Heat
butter and oil in skillet over medium heat. Add salmon cakes and fry 5
minutes on each side or until nicely browned.