Description
No matter what you call them, they’re delicious!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 lb fresh salmon
- 1 small Vidalia onion, diced
- 1/3 C fine yellow cornmeal
- 1/3 C all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp cajun seasoning, divided
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp flat-leaf parsley, minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
- Bring your salmon out of the fridge and let it rest on the counter for about 10 minutes. After this rest, lightly oil both sides of your salmon filet(s) and season with a pinch of kosher salt (also on both sides). Follow that up with a liberal amount of cajun seasoning, but only on the skinless side. Rub it into the salmon meat, and get the edges of sides of the filet, too.
- Place a skillet over medium-high heat and allow it to preheat for 3 minutes. When the pan is hot – I like to wait for it to be smoking a bit – drizzle in a teaspoon of olive oil and swirl it around to coat the surface of the pan, then add your salmon skin side down. Yes, I said down.
- Let the salmon cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes, then use a thin spatula to flip the fish over. Squeeze about one-half of a teaspoon of lemon juice into the pan and continue cooking on that side for 3 more minutes, then remove from the pan.
- Transfer the cooked salmon to a mixing bowl and use a fork to flake the meat. You can remove the skin if you’re not going to eat it, or you can tear that up into small pieces with the fork, too. If the salmon isn’t completely cooked through that’s OK: it’ll finish as you fry the patties.
- Once all of the salmon is flaked add the onion, parsley, cornmeal, flour, egg, and the remaining cajun seasoning and lemon juice. Stir everything together until a sort of paste forms, and all of the ingredients are distributed evenly throughout.
- Wipe out the skillet you used to sear the salmon with a paper towel, then add about 1/4 C of vegetable oil to the pan. You only need enough oil to cover the entire surface of the skillet; it should come about halfway up the sides of the patties when you add them. Turn the heat onto medium-high and allow the oil to heat up while you form the patties.
- To make the salmon cakes lightly oil the palms of your hands, then take a heaping spoonful (I use a regular cereal spoon) and use your hands to roll it into a ball. Press the ball into a patty about 3″ wide and no more than 1/2″ thick. Repeat until the bowl is empty – you should get somewhere between 8-12 patties.
- When the oil is shimmering – drop in a small piece of onion, if it sizzles, the oil is ready – add the salmon cakes in a single layer. Don’t crowd the pan: they shouldn’t be touching. Cook for 3 minutes on that side, until dark golden brown, then carefully flip and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or so. Remove to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat until all the patties are cooked. Dassit!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
