With everything that has been happening with the Project Food Blog competition, it’s been hard to find the time to post other recipes. But here I am with a mid-week blog entry for all of you.As many of you know, Eric and I have been enjoying our Community Supported Fishery, Cape Anne Fresh Catch, since the beginning of the summer. We’ve participated in two sessions already and are highly considering doing it again in November. The fish has been incredibly fresh and a delight to cook with. What I enjoy most is coming up with fun dishes… recipes I would normally never make. But given the quantity of fish we receive, I feel compelled to play around a bit.
Last night, we had the pleasure of grilling a whole hake (if you want nightmares, here’s a picture I found on Google. Don’t worry, they took the head off). I stuffed the cavity with lemon and fresh herbs, creating a wonderful, simply prepared fish.
There are always leftovers, which Eric usually brings to work the next day. Alas, he forgot to take it today (not that I’m complaining) and I came home to a whole fillet of fish to do something with.Which is what lead me to make these croquettes, a fairly easy dish and a nice way to showcase the flavor of the fish. This particular recipe, which I found on the Saveur website, contains just a little Old Bay for seasoning. While mine were more of an entree size portion, these croquettes can also be made slightly smaller and be served as an appetizer.
Fish Croquettes
(adapted from “Salmon Croquettes” from Saveur.com)
Ingredients
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. kosher salt
1 1-lb. boneless hake fillet (or another meaty white fish or salmon)
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
Juice of 1 lemon
Canola oil for frying
Directions
1. Combine 4 cups water, wine, 2 tbsp. Old Bay, and 1 tbsp. salt in a 10″ skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add fish skin side down, turn off the heat, cover, and let salmon cook gently in the hot liquid for 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer salmon to a plate skin side up and let cool. (The fish should still be rare in the middle.)
2. Peel off and discard fish skin. Break fish into small pieces and places pieces in a large bowl. Add the remaining Old Bay and salt along with the bread crumbs, butter, scallions, onions, eggs, and lemon juice. Stir ingredients until just combined and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
3. Spoon some of the salmon mixture into a 1/3-cup measuring cup and gently pack it with your hands. Unmold and press gently with your hand to form a 2″-wide patty; transfer patty to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Repeat to make 12 patties. Refrigerate patties for at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. Add oil to a 12″ cast-iron skillet until it reaches a depth of 1/2″. Heat over medium-high heat until oil registers 325° on a deep-fry thermometer. Using a metal spatula, gently transfer half of the patties to skillet and cook, flipping once with the spatula, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer croquettes to a paper towel–lined plate and repeat with remaining patties.
SERVES 6
I'm the first commenter…how exciting! I wish that we were able to participate in a CSF. The program sounds wonderful and the recipes you've been making are exceptional! And have I told you how much I love Old Bay? ADORE! It is almost midnight here, and now I'm craving fish (which at this hour is a harder craving to satiate than chocolate) Thanks for sharing my friend. I hope you have a great day tomorrow.
Delicious stuff, Brian! I admire your perseverance and dedication. I have a HUGE backlog of posts that aren't getting written because of PFB2010 at the moment! I've promised myself that I will, though. This week. I hope.
Jax x
Oh how I love fried food, especially seafood. Nice job Bri, very nice job.
Have to echo @hungry rabbit…, love fried food, especially fish. These little Croquettes look very tempting… a little squeeze of lemon, what more could you ask for.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like Foodbuzz is taking over their life and their blog…
I'm so glad you found the time to make these though because they look fantastic! I love fish but not shellfish and these look like the perfect alternative to crab cakes!
I am loving the croquettes Bri. Looks tasty even at this morning.
I had to go see this on the big screen. {BTW, I never get up this early…that speaks a lot!}
Most definitely making this before the week ends. Thank you for sharing. I may need to nap mid-morning.
Wow on CSF. I'm surrounded by water and yet I'm not in the loop. Thanks for sharing!
Oooh fish croquettes. That hake looks very um, unique, but if it was served to me whole, I'll still eat it!
I so wish I didn't take a peek at that picture. Spooky! Maybe I will try this with another type of fish!
Oooohhhh how I love fish croquettes! I wish I had one right now
This makes me wish I had kept going with Round Two of CSF! It's 9am and now all I can think about is how badly I want some of these for lunch today…Any left?
I'm definitely with you that #PFB2010 is making my blogging go all over the place! These fish croquettes look great!
Ok I really should have not clicked that link for the image of the fish. That is one scary looking fish! Can you imagine coming across that while swimming in the ocean? Shudder…….
Your fish croquettes look absolutely delicious though!
Great use of that fish. Old Bay and fried – you cannot go wrong. Loved your luxury dinner post also!
Wow – seems like foodbuzz is really taking over people's lives. You have to hang in there though because I have high hopes for you.
I'm sure these were amazing! They look so crunchy and flavorful!
Wow that looks good. I used to eat a TON of fish when I lived in AZ, but now that I am a Midwesterner again it is not easy to come by for a decent price that looks edible so I envy you.
Sorry I licked the screen.
Wait this is my screen. Damn.
These look incredibly delicious! I wish I could just reach in and grab one with my fork!
Beautiful little croquettes! The original recipe called for salmon? Much of that here in Southern California. Thanks for a new mid-week dinner suggestion. And good luck with Project Food Blog!
[K]
looks delicious.
Look very yummy…
oh yep…these days almost all the bloggers are occupied with the FB challenges….thanks for sharing a delicious seafood recipe! I have some UNOAKED Chardonnay in the fridge, this is just a perfect dish for me!
Angie
Oh man, do these stir up memories! My mom was not a great cook but she made salmon croquettes that I just loved! My sister says they weren't that good, but compared to the rest… and I dream of them. These look about a million times better and the list of ingredients tells just how delicious they must be. I may even try making these they look that good!
Brian, I am still so jealous that you have a such great seafood…..you did make an incredible fish croquette though, they look so good, what a great job with the presentation….it's a difficult proposition serving something made out of fish, fish cakes usually get an awkard look at best….lol…but you certainly pulled it off with this fish Crocquette…..they look delicious!!
Thanks for sharing it with us, and of course you have my vote!
Your croquettes are absolutely stunning!
We have the option for a CSF here too but haven't bought a share yet because I'm mostly concerned about the quantity of fish and I'm loathe to freeze it since it mucks up the flavour. I'll probably end up caving in!
I love fish croquettes, in fact I just finished some salmon croquettes with tzaziki for lunch! Great pics and recipe here!
Hmmm, the more I read from bloggers, the happier I am that I didn't dive into the foodbuzz 'challenge' thing.
I've had such a craving for fish lately – these croquettes look like the perfect thing to satisfy it.
Looks fantastic! I’m going to try this right now with sole and some substitution for the wine!