Monday, November 21, 2005

Salmon Croquettes

Sandy’s new recipe blog, Flies in the Butter starts out with, what I’m sure is, a great Georgia recipe for Salmon patties. And it made me think just how regional cooking is.

See, where I come from, they call them salmon croquettes. And those crazy Cajuns eat ‘em slathered in hot sauce and not catsup. So, I guess not to be outdone by no Georgianer, I’m gonna post my recipe for salmon croquettes.

Straight from the canal country of deep southeast Texas…

SALMON CROQUETTES

Start with a roux, (for those that don’t know, just take some bacon grease and get it hot, mix in some flour and cook it until light brown) and add some chopped onions and celery (finely chopped) and minced garlic if you like. Pour the water from the can of salmon into the flour and grease mixture to complete the roux. Continue cooking until a nice brown color.

Don’t you dare pick out the little bones in the salmon because Cajuns don’t want to miss out on anything. Mix your roux and a can of unadulterated salmon in a mixing bowl. Now you can add some cayenne pepper or other seasonings that you like at this point, but I don’t.

Put some corn meal on a plate and dip out a glob of salmon paste from the bowl with a big honkin’ tablespoon and drop it on the corn meal. Once it’s covered all over with the meal, roll it into a ball with the palms of your hands.

Mash it flat, pat it into the meal on each side again to make sure it's coated good, and put it in a cast iron skillet with just enough oil to cover the bottom and keep doing that until the skillet won’t hold any more. Fry them until golden brown on both sides, salt to taste, and slather them with Louisiana Hot Sauce. Tabasco will do, but doesn’t have as delicate a flavor as Louisiana style.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was a youngin my mom made salmon patties, we lived off of lake Michigan so salmon was cheap. I loved them then and I love them now.......with ketchup.

I posted a pic of the lock.....

Anonymous said...

Hey boy...you making fun of me eating CATSUP? hahaha...

I knew a girl from Ohio and she didn't pick the little bones out neither.....don't taste too bad but I'll keep pickin' mine out.

Your recipe sounds good but I tell you what that damn roux 'bout made me pull every single hair I have on my head OUT years ago. I had the hardest time learning to make roux...Jason's daddy says it should be the color of a penny.

But anyway...glad to see you don't want no "Georgian" to outdo ya'. :)

Robert Lewis said...

Jason's daddy says it should be the color of a penny.

Make sure that's a shiny NEW penny color - - - not a dark OLD penny!!