Now I make salmon cakes with fresh cooked salmon, which only adds a few minutes to the prep time and makes incredibly moist cakes. This is also a great way to use up leftover salmon from another meal! In a hot oven, most cuts of salmon take about 10 minutes per inch to cook. I start it under the broiler to char the skin, which flavors the flesh. If the grill is on, I grill the fish instead of broiling – which is ideal because it adds smoke to the cakes. If I’m planning a few days’ worth of menus or cooking for guests, I cook the salmon a day in advance. You can also prep the mayo the day before (both salmon and mayo double easily for a crowd). Some day-old bread – one of last night’s dinner rolls or a slice or two from a loaf – torn into small pieces and an egg helps to hold the cakes together. Some cocktail sauce, fresh dill, and Worcestershire get added for flavor. Pat the cakes lightly with flour and fry them in oil until the outsides are crisp. These fresh salmon cakes need a sauce with a little spice to balance their mildness, so I whisk mayo with a little extra cocktail sauce, some Sriracha, lemon juice, and mustard. The mayo isn’t very spicy, but go ahead and shake in more Sriracha for more heat, if you like. The golden cakes and their rosy sauce are perfect on the back porch or patio, by the lake or sea, or at the kitchen table.
1 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon bottled cocktail sauce, or more to taste 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha or other chili-garlic sauce, plus more to taste 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the salmon (or substitute about 3 cups leftover cooked salmon)
Canola oil (to oil the baking dish) 1 1/2 pounds boneless salmon, skin intact 5 tablespoons canola oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the cakes
1 day-old dinner roll (about 3-inches across) or 2 slices sandwich bread 1/4 cup fresh dill leaves, stripped from the stem 1 large egg, lightly beaten 3 tablespoons bottled cocktail sauce 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for shaping
Taste for seasoning and add more Sriracha or lemon juice, if you like. Cover and refrigerate until needed, or up to a 5 days. Set it in a baking dish, skin side up, and slide it under the broiler. Broil for 4 minutes, or until the skin is charred. Turn the oven temperature down to 400°F. Continue cooking the salmon for 8 minutes, or until the flesh is opaque in the center and the flesh flakes apart easily. You should have about 4 cups of flaked salmon. Pulse until the mixture is blended and still a little chunky. (Do not process so long that the mixture becomes a paste.) Add the egg mixture to the salmon mixture and stir thoroughly with your hands or a spatula. Add 4 of the cakes and cook without disturbing for 4 minutes, or until golden on the undersides. Turn and cook 4 minutes more, or until golden. Transfer to the baking dish and keep warm in the oven. Discard the oil in the pan (the flour tends to brown too much) and carefully wipe the pan with a paper towel. Fry the remaining 4 cakes in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the same way. Serve warm with the spicy mayo.
