Salmon patties

Which canned salmon to buy

Most canned salmon sold in the US is wild Alaskan, and there are two kinds. Pink salmon is pale, mild and the cheapest. Red salmon, which is sockeye, is deeper in color, richer and a little fattier. Both make good salmon patties. Pink gives a milder patty that most children will eat; red tastes more of salmon.

The standard 14.75-oz can holds about 10 oz (290 g) of salmon once drained. If you buy the small 5- or 6-oz cans or pouches of boneless, skinless salmon, you need four or five of them for this recipe.

Do you take the bones out of canned salmon?

No need. The bones in canned salmon are softened by the canning process, and they crush to nothing between your fingers. Mashed into the patties, you will not notice them, and they are where most of the calcium in canned salmon comes from. The skin is edible too. Pick out the large pieces of skin and the round spine bones if you do not like the look of them, but leave the rest in.

Why salmon patties fall apart

Three things hold salmon patties together, and skipping any of them is the usual reason they break in the pan:

• Drain the salmon well. Liquid left in the can makes the mix too wet to shape.
• Let the panko soak. Ten minutes in the mix lets the crumbs absorb moisture and swell, so they bind instead of sitting in it.
• Chill the shaped patties. Twenty minutes in the fridge firms the mayonnaise and egg. Cold patties hold their shape when they hit the hot oil.

Leave them alone for the first 3 minutes in the pan. They release easily once a crust has formed, and tear if you move them before that. Turn them with a thin, wide spatula.

Salmon patties in the air fryer

Heat the air fryer to 400°F. Spray or brush the chilled patties lightly with oil on both sides and set them in the basket in one layer, not touching. Air fry 10 to 12 minutes, turning them over after 6, until golden and crisp. They do not brown quite as deeply as fried ones, but they use almost no oil, which saves about 60 kcal a serving. Most baskets hold four patties, so plan on two batches.

Baked salmon patties

To make all eight at once, bake them. Heat the oven to 425°F, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and brush it with 1 tbsp of oil. Set the patties on it, brush the tops with a little more oil, and bake 15 minutes, turning them over halfway. They come out a little softer than fried patties.

However you cook them, the canned salmon is already cooked, so you are only heating them through and setting the egg. The center should reach 160°F, the USDA temperature for dishes made with egg.

Salmon patties, salmon cakes or croquettes?

They are the same thing. Salmon cakes is the more common name on the East Coast, where they are made like crab cakes, and salmon croquettes is the Southern name for the same patty, often made with crushed saltines and served for breakfast with grits. If you want to use saltines, 12 crackers, finely crushed, replace the panko. Leave out the Old Bay if you do, because the crackers are salted.

With fresh or leftover salmon

Leftover baked salmon works very well. You need about 1 1/4 lb (570 g) of cooked salmon, flaked, in place of the two cans. Cook them exactly as in the recipe; the 160°F center for the egg is the only thing to check. You can also chop raw salmon finely with a knife and use the same weight, but add a minute a side, and still cook them until the center reaches 160°F, because of the egg.

More recipes using canned salmon

• Salmon salad: use canned salmon in place of the tuna in our tuna salad. It is softer and richer.
• Salmon rice bowl: warm a can of salmon with a little soy sauce, and serve it over rice with cucumber, avocado and a drizzle of sriracha mayonnaise.
• Salmon pasta: toss hot pasta with flaked salmon, peas, lemon zest and a spoonful of the pasta water and cream cheese.
• Salmon spread: mash a can of salmon with cream cheese, lemon, dill and a little horseradish, for crackers or bagels.

What to serve with salmon patties

A quick sauce: stir 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt or mayonnaise with 1 tbsp chopped dill pickle, 1 tsp lemon juice and some chopped dill. It is close to tartar sauce. Serve the patties with a green salad, roasted green beans or a vinegar coleslaw, or on a bun like a burger.

Keeping and freezing

Cooked salmon patties keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat them in a skillet, or in the air fryer at 350°F for 5 minutes, which keeps the crust crisp. To freeze, cool them, freeze them on a tray, then put them in a bag. They keep 3 months. You can also freeze them raw, after shaping, and cook them from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes a side.

What it is worth nutritionally

A serving of two patties has about 410 kcal, with 38 g of protein, 24 g of fat and 9 g of carbohydrate. About half of the fat comes from the mayonnaise and the frying oil; cooked in the air fryer, they come to about 350 kcal and 18 g of fat. With the bones mashed in, canned salmon is a good source of calcium, and a serving gives roughly a quarter of the daily value. It also has omega-3 fats and some vitamin D, one of the few foods that do; see our guide to vitamin D deficiency. A can of salmon costs much less than the same weight of fresh fillets, which makes this one of the cheapest ways to eat fish twice a week.