Crispy Southern Fried Salmon Cakes

If there is one thing I have learned from living in the South, it's that pretty much everything tastes better fried. From hush puppies to fried Oreos, the past few years have been an education in the fine art of breading and hot grease. It's been fun, y'all!




Sometimes, however, you can fry up something nutritious so you feel a little less guilty about all that fat. For example, my Falafel. Or my Crispy Southern Fried Salmon Cakes, chock full of healthy omega-3.

This is also one of my favorite recipes because it is so versatile. You can serve salmon cakes for brunch, as a fancy pants appetizer, or even as a main course for dinner. How many other recipes can claim that? So git yer oil sizzlin' and hop to it!


Ingredients:

• 2 cans boneless, skinless salmon, drained. You can certainly use cooked fresh salmon, but this was easier and less expensive.

• 1 green onion. Adds a nice mild onion flavor, as well as pretty color.

• 2 eggs. This helps bind the cakes together.

• 1 1/2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs. I used DeLallo brand.

• 1 tbsp. lite mayonnaise. Cause this is a healthy recipe, right?

• 2 tsp. lemon juice

• 2 tbsp. butter

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

• Tartar sauce
  

This recipe is seriously incredibly easy and fast. This makes about four large salmon cakes, all of which I ate by myself cause they were so damn good. Two would probably make a normal serving, though.


Directions:

Chop up your green onion.




Crack your eggs into a small bowl and lightly beat them to break up the yolks.




Add your green onion, drained salmon, mayo, lemon juice, and 1 cup of the bread crumbs. Mix well with a fork to combine all the ingredients.




Heat your butter and oil in a skillet over medium high until nice and hot. The butter provides great flavor, and the oil helps keep the butter from burning.

Roll the salmon mixture into four balls with your hands and flatten them into patties about 1 inch thick. Before you put them in the pan, dredge them in the other 1/2 cup bread crumbs so they have a nice outer coating that will crisp up. Put them down in the pan and leave them alone!




Let the cakes fry up for about 3-4 minutes. You will know they are ready to flip when the bottom is brown and crispy. Don't be afraid of burning them...the crispier, the better! (Within reason, of course.)




Once both sides have fried up nice and brown, carefully remove them from the pan and serve with tartar sauce. Yeeee haw!