Mom’s Salmon Patties

These will always be a nostalgic favorite dish. My mom would make these on Fridays for our family’s version of a fish fry. Its not like she couldn’t make them any day of the week, but we seemed to always have them on Fridays. Maybe that was part of made them special, like a dish you only eat around a certain holiday. I think of her every time I make them.

The recipe is pretty simple. Canned salmon is the main ingredient. Its a great bargain, too. Canned salmon is wild caught salmon. It will contain some skin and bones that need to be removed. The skin and bones are edible, just not appealing to most. We always had cats and dogs, so it never went to waste. You can buy canned salmon with the skin and bones removed. If you cooked fresh salmon and has some left over, you could also use that to make the salmon patties. Then you just add eggs and breadcrumbs and some other ingredients for texture and flavor.

We normally served our salmon patties with coleslaw or a salad and sometimes French fries or roasted potatoes. Tartar sauce is optional. I kind of like tartar sauce.

So here is the recipe, just like Mom made.

Salmon Patties

1 can (15 oz.) salmon, skin and bones removed

½ c. chopped sweet onion

½ c. chopped celery

½ c. bread crumbs

2 eggs

Healthy dash of hot pepper sauce

2 t. lemon or lime juice, or more to taste

1 t. parsley flakes

Oil for cooking

Flake salmon in bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir together and form into 6 patties. Sauté in a little oil until golden on both sides. Serves 3-4.

Note: if you are using cooking onions I like to sauté them first to insure they are not too strong tasting.