This week, I’ll give one of my favorite quick dinner recipes: salmon fritters. The dish is perfect for a light, low calorie meal that still provides plenty of protein and all the benefits of seafood. Better yet, it relies on (high quality) canned salmon, so it’s attainable even if you live somewhere landlocked.

I recommend serving with a side salad and perhaps a nice crusty slice of sourdough bread.

Salmon fritters (Makes 5 fritters)

Aim for the highest quality canned salmon you can find. For me, Costco’s brand of canned salmon works great here and tends to be more affordable.

Some variations are given in the notes at the end. Feel free to play with the herbs/spices that go into these. Truffle salt, dill, rosemary, lemon, and garlic are all classic flavors; you can’t go wrong with those.

In total, the dish takes about 20 minutes to make and you probably have everything on hand, so this is a good recipe to stash for those nights you’re tempted to order out.

Ingredients

  • 2 170g cans of salmon, drained
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. salt of choice (See notes.)
  • pepper to taste
  • 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp. butter (See notes)
  • 1 tbsp herb/spice mix of your choice (See notes.)
  • capers (optional, for topping)
  • sour cream (optional, for topping)
  • fresh chopped chives (optional, for topping)

Equipment

  • 12″ skillet
  • spatula
  • pastry blender (optional)
  • 1/3 c. dry measuring cup

Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients except the cooking fat into a medium bowl.
  2. Mix into a semi-paste using either a pastry blender or your hands. You want an even mixture with no concentrated areas of spice, egg, or cheese. Make sure you can’t tell there’s flour in it by the time you’re done mixing.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp. butter in the skillet over medium heat until sizzling.
  4. Using the 1/3 c. measuring cup, scoop a packed 1/3 c. salmon mixture and drop into the pan. Flatten lightly with a spatula. Repeat 2-3 more times. I only fit 4 into my pan, but maybe you can fit all 5. Make sure you have room to maneuver a spatula around in the pan.
  5. Cook until browned on bottom, about 3-4 minutes. If it’s browning too fast, reduce heat. If it’s taking longer, increase heat. You’re going for a nice crust.
  6. Flip and cook until browned on the other side.
  7. Transfer to a plate. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, capers, and chives, if desired.

Notes

  • You’re welcome to use any salt you like. I recommend truffle salt or sea salt. In my opinion, smoke salts are too overpowering here. A herb/salt blend can be nice if it contains lemon peel or dill.
  • The flour and egg are the “glue” that will bind the fritters together. Do not eliminate the flour.
  • You can substitute Asiago or another similar hard cheese for Parmesan if you like.
  • Fish is delicate, so the cooking fat you use will have a bigger effect. Bacon grease will impart an undesirable flavor here, so I’d stick with butter or something else pretty neutral. Goose fat would be fine, but avoid tallow, and ghee. You can use olive oil if you want to; you’re not cooking at super high heat.
  • For the herb/spice mix, you want to add a total of 1 tbsp. I left this up to your personal taste and what you have in your kitchen. Here are a few nice combinations:
    • equal parts dill and parsley
    • 2 parts dill, 1 part dried lemon peel
    • 1/2 tbsp. dried rosemary