Standard FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for products or services, including from Amazon.com. Read full disclosure here.
Salmon is our favorite fish to cook when we are in the mood for seafood. My husband, the Accidental Recycler (AR), is from the Northwest and when I married him, he brought with him, his mother’s Steamed Ginger Salmon recipe, like a dowry. I gave him Kimchi in return. I’ve had the freshest salmon from one of his neighbors who’d returned from a “Salmon Run“, the day before. It was fresh as if I caught it myself. Actually, it was better since I didn’t have to catch it. I don’t know if I could eat it, if I’d caught it myself.
I’ve also had the good fortune of tasting the Northwest style smoked salmon straight out of a neighbor’s backyard smokehouse. Northwesterners along the Pacific coast have more smokehouses in their backyards than BBQ grills.
What’s so great about salmon?
Salmon is one of the most nutritious fish there is. 1/2 fillet serving size of wild coho salmon has almost 3000mg of Omega 3 Fatty Acids – a key anti-inflammatory nutrient – is low in sodium, high in Niacin, Protein, Selenium, B6, B12, and Phosphorus. And as it turns out, Pacific salmon – especially from Alaska – is one of the best sustainable and ocean safe choices for fish, according to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch.
“Seafood Watch recommends wild-caught salmon from Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington as these are ocean-friendly choices. “Avoid” salmon farmed in open net pens. Salmon farmed on land in “closed” or “contained” farms is a viable alternative that points the way to a more environmentally-friendly future for salmon farming.”
And the recent news about lethal virus in Sockeye salmon – not for humans – in British Columbia had us worried but U.S. Fish and Wildlife reported that wild Pacific salmon is resistant to the virus and that even those salmon that were tested positive were not showing clinical signs. It’s good to know that U.S. Fish and Wildlife is doing everything they can to protect the wild salmon population. And from visiting fisheries out in WA., I know they (U.S.F.W) take salmon’s welfare very seriously and they mean business!
Now you know why the politicians from the Northwest are pushing to ban – and me included – Frankenfish. Wild salmon is so important in maintaining the ecological integrity of the Pacific Northwest and they should be protected from being destroyed by more aggressive genetically engineered (GE) salmon. Or in the worst case scenario, if GE salmon is approved, I want to know which salmons are GE and which ones are wild by having them properly labeled so that I can avoid buying GE salmon.
Enough of salmon lesson and on with the Salmon Cake Recipe
Ok, ok…..I had to give you some background so that you will appreciate why salmon is so important to our diet and what type of salmon to buy.
So, anyway, since we never eat farmed salmon, whenever we see a big sale on “Wild Caught” salmon from Alaska or from the Pacific, we buy a few pounds and freeze them. Sometimes, we don’t even get to freeze them as AR grills pounds of salmon with his “secret” marinade and they get gobbled up pretty fast. And YES, there is a HUGE taste (and nutritional) difference between FARMED and WILD salmon.
But when AR grills or bakes too much salmon, then, it’s up to me to take care of the leftovers. And this salmon cake recipe is the easiest way to polish up whatever cooked salmon that’s left in the fridge. Of course, you can always cook this dish from scratch and not wait for leftovers.
Actually, you can use any kinds of fish for this recipe – Pacific cod , Pacific halibut, Scrod (Haddock), and even crab. They are all sustainable and will hold up well when you shape them into cakes. This recipe is how I usually make salmon cakes, with peppers and not with peas and corn, as pictured below, but I ran out of peppers and used frozen organic peas and corn instead. And they worked fine as well.
Some fish cake calls for bread crumbs and lots of herbs but I don’t like to overpower the fish and I don’t want to use fillers like bread crumbs; I want to taste the fish, not the bread crumbs or overpowering herbs.
The BEST Salmon (Fish) Cakes Recipe
- 1 - 1½ lbs of Wild Caught Salmon
- 2-3 Tbsp. Homemade Mayonnaise
- 2 Tsp. Dijon Mustard
- 1 Large Egg, lightly beaten OR ½ Cup of Egg Replacer
- ¼ C. Diced Small Red Bell Pepper
- ¼ C. Diced Small Yellow Pepper
- ¼ C. Diced Small Red of Yellow Onion
- 1 Tsp. Chopped Fresh Tarragon
- 1 Tsp. Chopped Fresh Dill
- 1 Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Parsley
- 2 Tbsp Horseradish
- ¼ Tsp Sea salt
- Avocado Oil
- Rinse salmon in cold water and pat dry. (If you have leftover salmon, you can skip to step No.6.)
- Put salmon, skin side down, on a 9"x13" glass pan.
- Brush with oil lightly and sprinkle salt and pepper.
- Bake in the oven at 350 °F or grill on the outdoor BBQ grill for about 20 minutes until it's flaky but not overcooked. It's better to be slightly undercooked since you'll be finish cooking it later.
- When salmon is cooked, set it aside to cool and then, chill it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sauté peppers and onions until soft and onions translucent. Set aside and let it cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix egg or egg replacer, mayonnaise, mustard, tarragon, dill, parsley, and horseradish.
- Add pinches of salt
- Take the chilled salmon out from the fridge, crumble the fish in small chunks, and add them to the mixing bowl.
- Add the sautéed peppers and onions to the mixing bowl and mix well.
- Cover and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- When the salmon mixture is chilled, shape them into patties, the size of hamburger patties.
- Add about 2 Tbsp of avocado in a pan and brown patties on both sides in batches - about 3 minutes each side - over Medium heat.
- Keep them warm in the preheated oven at 250°F until ready to be served.
Either way, you don’t need any dressing or condiment as every flavor you’d want, is in the cake. You can make little patties and serve them as sliders or make them bigger and serve them as entreé.
