00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with Forgotten 1950s Salmon Patties.
00:09That's right, this fast, affordable, and very delicious meal started in the 30s and reached its peak popularity in the
00:1650s.
00:17But then, for whatever reason, it was kind of forgotten.
00:20But I remembered it, and I'm very excited to share a recipe I hope you never forget.
00:26And to get started, we're going to crush up some crackers to make crumbs.
00:30And while back in the day they would have used saltines, I like doing this with Ritz crackers,
00:35which are more buttery and rich and have a nice little touch of sweetness.
00:38And we do want to crush these up pretty fine, but we don't want a powder.
00:43So we should probably stop right about here.
00:45And once those are set, we'll move on to the star of the show, a couple cans of salmon.
00:50And this was a wild sockeye salmon from Wild Planet, which I do think is the best brand.
00:56But whatever you pick, the ingredients should just say salmon and salt.
01:00And what we'll do as soon as that's in the bowl is quickly cover it with our crumbs, a little
01:05bit of mayonnaise, and one whole egg.
01:07And that's because even the most beautiful canned salmon is nothing we want to stare at for too long.
01:12And what we'll do is take a fork and mix and mash this up until everything's evenly combined.
01:17And that salmon's broken up into nice small bits.
01:20And by the way, if you think you see something that looks like a bone, or any other kind of
01:24fish part,
01:25do not under any circumstances try to pick it out.
01:28All right, because of how this is processed, everything in the can is going to be just as soft and
01:33edible as the meat.
01:34And that's one reason canned salmon is so extra nutritious.
01:37But anyway, once mixed, we'll go ahead and add some chopped capers, as well as some minced up green onion.
01:43And both those things are optional, but the following seasonings probably are not.
01:47Which includes a little bit of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and of course a few shakes of cayenne.
01:55And I guess we could have added that stuff earlier.
01:57But sometimes if you mix and mash raw onions in something like this,
02:00you can kind of bruise them, and they'll get more of a harsh flavor.
02:04Which is why I'm using this extra careful two-step method.
02:07And then what we'll do next for the fancy version,
02:10is take a spoon and press this mixture down, nice and evenly,
02:14until we have a nice flat, uniform surface.
02:16And that's going to make it nice and easy to divide this into four equal portions,
02:20which we will then shape into some nice beautiful patties,
02:23with some damp hands.
02:24All right, for the faster, non-fancy version,
02:27just simply take a spoon and transfer four lumps of this mixture into a frying pan.
02:32And then you can just press it down with a spatula, kind of Smashburger style.
02:36Which totally works if you're okay with your regular edges.
02:39But like I said, we're doing a fancy version.
02:42So we'll dampen our hands with a little bit of water,
02:44and we'll shape those into some nice thick patties.
02:47And once formed, we will place those down on a plate,
02:49that we've dusted with some extra cracker crumbs,
02:52which is also optional, but you do get a crispier crust this way.
02:56And once all four portions are shaped,
02:58we will also dust the top with a few crumbs,
03:00and go ahead and press those in.
03:02At which point, if we're in a hurry,
03:04we can go ahead and start pan frying these.
03:06But what I prefer to do is let them rest for three or four minutes,
03:10while we mix up our sauce.
03:12And I'm going to do sort of a quick, easy remoulade for these.
03:15Which starts with some mayonnaise,
03:17to which we will add some sour cream,
03:19as well as a spoon of Dijon mustard,
03:22followed by a generous amount of pickle relish.
03:24And I would say a sweet relish probably pairs better with these salmon patties.
03:28But I had dill relish, so that's what I used.
03:31And it really does work great also.
03:33And then we'll continue on with some freshly ground black pepper,
03:36a nice big spoon of paprika,
03:39plus a spoon of sugar, if you used a dill pickle relish.
03:42Or you can skip that if you used the sweet one.
03:45And then since I had them, I finished with some fresh herb,
03:47which was a little bit of freshly chopped parsley and tarragon.
03:51And that's it.
03:52We'll give our sauce a mix,
03:53and pop it in the fridge until we need it.
03:55Oh, and in case it matters,
03:57both this sauce and the salmon patties,
03:59can be made well in advance.
04:01Okay, even the day before, if you want.
04:03But we're hungry,
04:04so what we'll do once our sauce is done,
04:06is melt a generous amount of butter in a pan,
04:08set over medium heat.
04:10And we will transfer our salmon patties in.
04:13And then we'll cook those for about three minutes per side,
04:15or until beautifully browned and crispy.
04:19And then something I like to do when I'm frying a salmon patty,
04:22or even something like a crab cake,
04:24is about halfway through that first side cooking time,
04:26I like to give them a little half turn,
04:28so that maybe they cook a little more evenly.
04:31Although I will admit,
04:32there's a pretty good chance I just did that for nothing.
04:35But anyway, we'll give that first side about three minutes,
04:37and then flip them over,
04:39and give the other side about the same.
04:41And of course, the exact cooking time always depends on how thick you make these.
04:45But keep in mind, everything in here is cooked,
04:47except for the egg.
04:48So once these are heated through, you're done.
04:51And then one last optional trick I do with these.
04:53Once that second side's done,
04:55I flip them back over,
04:57to further crisp up that first side.
05:00And I know, they say you're not supposed to flip things like this more than once.
05:03But you know what?
05:04They say a lot of things.
05:06And as long as the coating doesn't get too dark,
05:08I do think it makes them a little bit crispier.
05:11But either way, once those are done,
05:13we'll go ahead and serve up,
05:14which I'm going to do next to some chilled asparagus,
05:17which I think is a perfect pairing.
05:19And once those are plated,
05:20we'll finish up with a nice big spoon of our remoulade sauce over each patty.
05:25But do not cover the whole thing,
05:27especially if you're taking contractually obligated pictures,
05:30since these things are just too pretty to hide.
05:33And then I garnish these with a shake of cayenne,
05:36and then a little pinch of minced green onion,
05:38which is what I thought would look good,
05:40but use what you want.
05:42I mean, you are after all the duke or duchess
05:44of your finishing touches.
05:46And that's it.
05:47I grabbed a fork and dug in.
05:49And if everything goes according to plan,
05:51these should be moist and tender on the inside,
05:53and crispy and crunchy on the outside.
05:56In fact, let me try one of these little crispy bits
05:59before I take a proper bite.
06:01Oh yeah, we nailed the crispy on the outside part.
06:04So that was a good tease.
06:06But I want the complete package now.
06:08And that, my friends, really was amazing.
06:11And normally I'd be annoyed
06:12that some of that sauce fell on the asparagus,
06:15distracting people's eyes away from these gorgeous patties.
06:18But I wasn't, because it was the perfect reminder
06:20that that remoulade sauce we made,
06:22besides being great with these,
06:24is a perfect dip for any kind of seasonal veggies.
06:27And I was going to squeeze the lemon on the asparagus,
06:30but I think I'm actually just going to go
06:31with some more remoulade.
06:33But anyway, now I'm remembering the words
06:35of a chef I used to work for,
06:36who once told me,
06:38nobody cares about vegetables.
06:40So I'm going to go back to talking
06:42about these salmon patties.
06:44Okay, I'm a big fan of crab cakes,
06:46but crab is really expensive,
06:48if you can even find some good crab.
06:50So this is a great alternative.
06:52And it's close.
06:53But I might like these even better.
06:56Oh, and the reason I called these 1950s salmon patties,
06:59and not 1930s salmon patties,
07:02was because back during the Depression era,
07:04this was just a three-ingredient recipe,
07:07which was salmon crackers and an egg.
07:09If you were lucky.
07:10Sometimes just salmon and crackers.
07:12But in the 50s,
07:13things were a little better.
07:14And people didn't make these because they had to.
07:17They made them because they wanted to.
07:19And extra ingredients started to get added in.
07:21And people ate them listening to rock and roll.
07:24And not just that sad trombone sound.
07:27But anyway, that's it.
07:29My take on salmon patties.
07:31If you make these,
07:32you'll be as amazed as I am
07:33that these somehow were forgotten.
07:35Because I happen to think they're very memorable.
07:37And I really do hope you give them a try soon.
07:40So please follow the links below
07:43for the ingredient amounts,
07:44a printable written recipe,
07:46and much more info as usual.
07:48And as always,
07:51enjoy.
07:53Enjoy.
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