Salmon Patties – a family classic

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Salmon patties.  When I think of my childhood and a meal that my mom got on the table quickly, these pop into my head.  With simple ingredients (that I had never measured before sharing this recipe today), salmon patties are great introduction to fish for your kiddos.  They also make for a great simple summer dinner.

In our house, salmon patties are always served with bow tie noodles.  I don’t know exactly why, but that’s just how it goes. The vegetable that used to go with them was a can of LeSeur Peas (and I highly recommend this.).  However, now you are more likely to find us eating these with roasted broccoli or summer sweet corn. Maybe even just a simple side salad.

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There are a few pieces to these salmon patties that must not be changed. 

First and foremost is that you must use crispy fried onions.  Traditionally, we used French’s Crispy Fried Onions. Yes, you know the ones.  Red top, goes with green beans on Thanksgiving. In a pinch, you can substitute the Trader Joe’s variety and in a real pinch the store brand will work find too.  The key is that they need to be crunchy.  

Canned salmon is key to making this a simple weeknight dinner.  

One of the best discoveries I have made is the Costco canned salmon.  It comes in a stack of 6 – 6oz cans and is already deboned, deskinned, de-everything, so all you need to do is drain it and dump it into the bowl. 

You can use canned salmon that hasn’t been “cleaned”, but the time it takes to comb through the can for bones and skin feels like wasted time to me. And, it’s a bit gross if I can be honest.

Salmon is a great lean protein and we eat a ton of it in our house. 

Sometimes it’s whole salmon that gets grilled or broiled, often times its smoked salmon (lox), served on Sunday morning with bagels. These salmon patties also make an appearance once or twice a month.  They freeze really well and when I’m struggling for a protein for lunch or a quick weekend dinner, I pull these out of the freezer, reheat in the oven and I’m good to go.

And the bowtie noodles.  Can’t forget about those.  

Why bowtie noodles?  I can’t really say. But I do know that they taste the best with salmon patties.  Maybe it’s because they feel like a “lighter” pasta, or they are just plain fun to eat.  The noodles are typically lightly buttered and then dressed up to each person’s liking. Sometimes they get red sauce from a jar, sometimes they get cinnamon and sugar, sometimes they get a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  It’s really whatever floats your boat.

The goal is that they are simple.  No fancy sauces here. The star of the show is the salmon patties and the backup singers are the bowties and vegetables.  My kids have been known to eat 3 of these in a sitting and my husband can easily eat 5 or 6.

Making salmon patties is super simple.

You drain the salmon, put everything into a bowl and mix well to combine. Then with a cookie scoop or a regular spoon, scoop the mixture into your hand and form the patties. Then fry in olive oil until golden brown.

Tips and Tricks:

• Use a large cookie scoop to make even size patties
• Slice up about ½ an onion and add it to the oil for a little something extra.  The crunchy onion bits that embed themselves in the salmon patties are some of my favorite parts
• Pan fry these in olive oil and watch the temperature.  You don’t want to burn the oil or the salmon patties, just want them to be golden brown and cooked through.
• These freeze really well.  Once cool, place in plastic zip top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.  To reheat, place frozen on a baking sheet in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or defrost in the fridge and eat cold.
• You can make the mixture the night before you are going to fry these.  Just store in a tightly covered bowl in fridge overnight.
  

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Looking for a good side dish to go with these? Check out these recipes for ideas:

• Rosemary Roasted Carrots
• Sweet Corn and Basil Soup

Want to make these now? Are you missing some ingredients? Amazon Now can get them to you in a few hours, Instacart can get them to you today. Or add them to your Peapod grocery list and don’t be stuck with out them again!