Old Fashion Salmon Patties With Crackers

Salmon patties have been a staple around my house since I was young. The recipe for these 'old fashioned' salmon patties originally came from my grandmother. My mother always made these on fridays, served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Salmon patties is one of those recipes that there are so many variations. Some of them depend on what part of the country you're from, others depend on what time period the recipe came from. I can't say for sure when this old fashioned salmon patty recipe came from, but I do know that it is an old recipe. My grandmother had it wrote on a little scrap of paper. When I learned it from my mother she didn't give me a recipe; she had it memorized. I finally wrote it down for myself, and I have included a printout recipe for you.

So tonight, let's have salmon patties.

1. Two cans of salmon. If you are making a smaller batch, use one can. This recipe makes about 12 large salmon patties.
2. Three eggs. For a smaller batch, use one egg.
3. One and a half packages of saltine crackers. For a smaller batch, use 2/3 package of crackers
4. Onion powder
5. Garlic powder
6. Lemon juice
7. Oil for frying
8. Large mixing bowl
9. Large spoon for mixing
10. Flipper
11. Skillet
12. Can Opener

Open the cans of salmon and drain the liquid into a spare bowl. Take the salmon out of hte can and pull out all the round backbones, placing them into the spare bowl as well. You may need to squish the salmon to find all the bones, and if you miss a few it is not a big deal, they are soft enough to be eaten. I prefer to also get rid of the skin, but that is preference. Give the salmon ‘juice’ and bones to your cat

Place the de-boned salmon into the large bowl. Crack the eggs into the bowl, mixing with the spoon until incorporated. Now crush one and a half packages (or 2/3 package for a smaller batch) crackers into the bowl. Uneven pieces is totally fine; it doesn't have to be cracker dust. Stir as you add the crackers.

Keep adding crackers until you can form a ball of the salmon mixture with your hands and it will stay together. You may not end up having to use the whole amount of crackers specified.

In the old days, when times were tough, crackers, bread crumbs, or oats were used to help extend what little meat (or in this case, fish) there was to be had and make the meal more filling. My grandmother also made hamburgers in a similar manner to her salmon patty recipe, but she used oats instead of crackers.

As with most of my recipes, this recipe is season to taste. The main thing I will say is don't use more garlic powder than you do onion powder because garlic powder is pretty strong stuff.

Add onion powder and garlic powder to the mix, stirring afterwards. Add a dash of lemon juice. Stir to combine.

Form the salmon patty mixtures into balls, squishing it into shape with your hands. I am making large salmon patties, so mine are big enough to fit in the palm of my hand. Once formed, flatten the patty with your hand to make a rounded shape. You may need to press the edges together to make sure it doesn't try to break in half while being fried.

Keep forming the patties until you have used all the mixture. Thinner patties will be crispier, thicker patties will not be as crispy and will take longer to fry.

Put enough oil in the skillet that it will come halfway up the side of the patties. Once the oil has heated, place the patties in the skillet. You can put more than one in the skillet as long as you have room to flip them.

Place the patties in the skillet and fry until halfway up the side is crisp and golden. Flip and fry second side in the same manner.

Once the patty is done frying (both sides are golden brown), take it out of the skillet with the flipper and place it on a plate lined with paper towels. Let it cool slightly and then serve.

As I said, these go great with green beans and mashed potatoes. I advise serving with lemon juice because many like to put extra on their salmon patties. They will keep in the fridge, but I wouldn't keep them past three days after frying. When storing in the fridge, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container to keep them from giving a fishy taste to other foods around them.

It is nice to know that I am making a recipe that my grandma made. I hope you also enjoy this recipe and like being able to cook a traditional recipe in your home kitchen.