I got a yen for the food of the fifties tonight and looked up how to make salmon patties. My mother called them salmon croquettes, but they looked like patties, and I seemed to remember that she used salmon, bread crumbs, egg -- simple items like that, and it only took her a few minutes to make them.
Either my memory is awfully, unlawfully flawed, or she did not face anything like what I did tonight. Did I mention I'm a really good artist? (I have to say that to restore my self-esteem, because I made such a cookery mess this evening!) First you saute the onions until soft in a small frying pan, and add your minced garlic, lemongrass, and jalapeno pepper. You set this aside to cool.
I'm almost certain Mom wouldn't have known what lemongrass was even if it spit a seed in her eye.
You mix of a small bowl of "whisked" eggs. You set this aside. Mom would have said she won't cook with whiskey. I also doubt if she ever heard of cilantro or of canola oil. Or rice vinegar. Then you put a lot of exotic stuff in a large bowl. Once you add the eggs and the cooled onion stuff, you carefully fold the salmon into it. I really think the salmon is beyond caring whether it is carefully folded or not.
You form the stuff into eight patties and chill for a half-hour. That called for another pan. I used my cookie pan to do that. Finally, weak from hunger, I plopped the patties into a large frying pan with peanut oil.
I chow down, and it's not too bad, but Mom's simple recipe was better. Then again, through my rosy glasses, almost everything was better when she cooked it.
My kitchen looks like a tornado hit it. I just got both frying pans, both bowls, the chopping board and the dinner plates washed up. I am absolutely sure my mother didn't use that many pans, bowls and cookie sheets to make salmon croquettes.
She didn't have a dishwasher, except for us girls.
Tomorrow I'm getting Chinese carry-out.
Nancy
www.nancyparkart.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Nancy I'm sure your mother made salmon croquettes similar to the ones my mother made. After all we are talking the same town. I don't have the recipe but when I make them today I think mine may be a tad closer to the "real thing" than your experiment. Here goes.
The salmon is canned. I doubt either of our parents could afford the real deal. I have no exact measurements.
Heat an iron skillet. Use about a tbsp of olive oil (our mothers probably used Crisco) and soften some chopped onion in the oil. Meanwhile, add one egg to the can of salmon, add spices of your choice - I use Italian mixed spices - and pepper and fine bread crumbs smoosch together with your hands (kid fun). Add the softened onion into the salmon mix. Smoosch some more. Form salmon mix into patties and fry (add enough olive oil in pan so nothing burns).
Make a white sauce and add in tarragon so it sounds ritzy (and tastes good). Drizzle sauce over salmon patty. Not quite like mom's but not too far off. I don't know if my mother knew what tarragon was but I surely think it improves the recipe.
This recipe will not win a prize.
Nancy, my grandmother and mother passed this recipe to me. Use one can of salmon, one egg slightly beaten and as many crushed saltine crackers as it takes to make it hold together. Add some grated onion (as much as you like), shape into patties and fry.
I'm sure Grandmother's were fried in bacon fat, but Mom used veg oil.
We never used the term croquette because my grandmother said to be croquettes, they had to be made in little inverted snow cone shaped things and browned evenly on all sides, which was entirely too much trouble.
Try this with leftover fish of any kind, too. My husband suffers through fish dinners to get to the fish cakes!
Nancy, I have eaten a lot of salmon patties in my time (mother called them croquettes too), but never with cooked onion. I make mine similar to Carol, using Italian bread crumbs 'cause I am lazy and they taste good. I suggest that the first ones any of us ate were fried in lard. I now use OO sparingly. I love these cold the next day if any make it that far.
Post a Comment