Salmon Burgers/Patties/Croquettes

Living in the middle of Georgia means there isn't a lot of fresh seafood around.  (Except for the shrimp guy who sets his truck up near F&M Bank one Friday a month (I think)...the guy I always forget about and wish I had shrimp later).  Reid goes fishing on his lunch breaks at the Augusta canal but obviously we don't eat those.   (I guess he should be fishing more at the river here...he will love this post).  There is an amazing source for Wild Alaskan Salmon on Augusta Locally Grown (Doug's).  I've ordered it before and the filets are amazing, amazing, amazing.  However, the $26 or so price/lb-1.5 lbs is a little on the pricier side for an everyday meal.  Food is something I don't mind paying the price for quality on but we will probably stick to something a little more on the budget friendly side for an everyday meal.

So for a weeknight meal (that you can prep in advance) and a way to incorporate more fish/Omega 3's in our diet, I'm a big fan of canned salmon.  

If you haven't used it, then here is what you want to look for:  Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon, MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified, and with only two ingredients:  Salmon, Salt.  While a filet may run $26/lb, a can of this costs less than $4.00.  There are 7 servings in each can with 15 grams of protein and 782mg Omega 3 fatty acids/serving.  Also 18% DV of calcium.  (The brand I buy here in Washington at Ingles is Double "Q" Pink Salmon-it has a red label.)  

The other thing to know about canned salmon is that it looks a little gross.  It's not just the nice meaty portion of the fish.  It has the skin and bones.  So when you cook with it, I recommend having everything else ready then opening up the can of salmon last so you can dump it in, stir and not have to look too closely at it. Yes, you eat the entire can and you don't want to drain it and lose any of those good Omega 3's.  (And I really only had to do this a couple times...it's not all that horrible but you don't want it sitting on your counter while you boil sweet potatoes.)

So here is the recipe...you will probably want to play around with the amount of seasonings and add/substitute based on flavors your family likes.  (Another good reason to make your non-fishy and non-egg mixture first...you can taste knowing that you'll be adding a little salt with the fish and that's it.  Once you add the eggs, you won't want to taste test it.  You can only justify that with cookie dough.) My "whole foods" cooking philosophy means using a whole onion, or a whole sweet potato, or a whole can of beans.  So if you have a large onion and not a small one, go ahead and use the whole thing. In cooking, the less picky you are with measurements the easier life is. (Because seriously who is going to have a way to "use up" a third a can of beans?  This philosophy is also why I make about 20 cups of hummus at a time because I'm not about to try to mix and measure tahini.  That goes for peanut butter cookies as well...I always adjust to be able to just dump the whole jar in.)

Step 1: Mash all your ingredients up together in a bowl.

Step 2:  Use an ice cream scoop and a parchment lined baking sheet to make beautiful patties burgers.  Bake them first, then "fry" them in a little oil right before serving.  The method makes sure they don't fall to pieces on you and have crazy shapes (like mine used to do every time).

Step 3:  Give them a little shallow oil run in the skillet for the crunchy effect.  Better than fish sticks any day...

Sweet Potato Salmon Patties

Half bunch of parsley

1 small red onion, chopped

1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cubed & boiled until soft

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp Dijon horseradish mustard

2 chopped green onions (optional)

1 tsp Sea salt

1 tsp coarsely ground pepper

1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
Fresh herbs-dill, thyme and parsley are all wonderful
1 Can of black beans

1 Can Double “Q” Wild Alaskan Caught Salmon

2 pastured chicken eggs (small-medium sized)

½ cup MASA cornmeal flour or whole wheat panko breadcrumbs (Ian's is a good brand sold here)..or whatever dry grain flour you have on hand (a sleeve of saltine crackers also work pretty well...just use up what you've got to hold it all together).

Directions:

1.)    Prepare sweet potato as directed.

2.)    Add sweet potatoes, onions, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, sea salt and black pepper in bowl and mash well together. 

3.)    Open can of salmon and add directly into sweet potato mixture and mash to combine.

4.)    Add eggs.

5.)    Add cornmeal or bread crumbs starting with ¼ cup.  Combine and add more as needed until desired consistency to form patties is reached.

6.)    Use ice cream scoop to make about 12 portions onto parchment lined baking sheet.  Slightly flatten out so you've got a tray of salmon patty disks.

7.)    Bake in preheated 350 oven for 15-20 minutes until fully cooked.  (If you want, at this point you can chill or freeze the patties until you're ready to eat them.  Reid insists chilling them first before the last step is the secret.  If you freeze them, thaw out in the fridge first).

8.)    Immediately before serving, add 2 tbsp oil in large skillet on medium heat.  Cook 3 minutes/side.

Makes 12 patties; Per each, approximately 470 mg Omega 3’s; 8.75 gm protein

Add a few sides and you've got all the taste benefit of using fresh ingredients and a little slight fry there at the end; the health benefits of a variety of fruits/veggies/beans/grains/herbs and a happy husband.  Or a happy 8 month old.

Lemon broccoli, salmon patties, fruit salad and homemade pumpernickel bread.

Dinner aftermath...

Hope you enjoy this recipe!  Feel free to mix up the herbs, seasonings, binder, etc...you can make cilantro lime patties, spicy salmon patties, even Greek salmon patties (which is great if you repeat these at least 1x every 1-2 weeks like I do...)