It is Grandmother’s recipe box time again (these are also right in Cousin M’s mid-century sweet spot, although he might serve them with a Béarnaise sauce). I put ketchup on the table for the carnivore, but he pronounced them delicious as-is. They are within the same genre as salmon, fish, or clam cakes, and are an easy, inexpensive main course.
Beat 1 tablespoon lemon juice into two eggs. Mix in 10 tablespoons seasoned dry bread crumbs. This is to taste – I used a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, Grandmother used dill. You could also pulverize some very dry croutons – you want tiny, fine crumbs. Add 3-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, 3-4 tablespoons finely chopped onion, and 15 ounces of tuna, from cans, drained. Add 2-4 tablespoons mayo to ensure that the mixture will form into cohesive cakes; if you are anti-mayo, no worries, you will not taste it, it just acts as food glue.
Options: feel free to throw in an 1/8 cup minced celery or a teaspoon or two of dried mustard or seeded Dijon mustard.
Mix into 8-10 1” cakes. Sauté until golden on each side, 3-5 minutes a side. These freeze well, too.
Ketchup with fried fish?!
…not as unusual as you might think…not my preference…but ketchup is on the counter at pretty much all fish&chip shops in the UK & last time I checked people didn’t limit that to the chips…or fries if you remember to adjust the term for a US conversation?
@SplinterRip, exactly, and thank you.
You’re one of those. Mayo/Tartar
You should watch me eat a crabcake.
I’d rather set myself on fire.
We can sprinkle some cilantro on you for seasoning and serve with a side of Greek yogurt and roasted eggplant. Also a nice salad with chard and avocado.
If you’re going to desecrate my body at least have the good sense to serve it with green chile and refried beans.
Cocktail sauce is basically ketchup with horseradish and commonly served with seafood.
@Hannibal, yes it is – I make my own with local fresh-grated horseradish. Years ago there was an old fellow who sold horseradish at market; he would grate it in front of a fan (no clue why it didn’t blow everywhere) and the aroma sold many, many bottles.
@butcherbakertoiletrymaker, probably good with cilantro, as well…
Killing me. Dead.
Cilantro, ketchup… People have some strange notions about food.
Try some scrapple.
No.
I LOVE Scrapple. And it’s often served with ketchup!
@Elliecoo You might remember me saying I was off canned tuna because it was always nasty. I was buying Starkist because I thought it was a better brand. I took your advice and bought the cheaper Bumblebee and it’s much better. I have some in the pantry and am going to use it to make these later in the week. Thanks for the recipe and consumer advice. 😁
What about that olive oil packed tuna? I thought that was the best?
@Sedevilc, hmmm – I always the water packed, I can’t speak to that.
You generally use tuna packed in oil so the tuna flavor doesn’t get lost when cooked with something else. Pasta for example, or if you make a tuna sauce. I prefer tuna in water when the tuna is the point, like these tuna cakes or especially to make tuna fish sandwiches.
@sedevilc There’s only one thing that I use tuna in oil for… it’s this tomato, broccoli, and tuna sauce for pasta that I invented one day when I was trying to use up odds and ends. You use the tuna oil as the cooking oil and sautè onion, garlic, and the chopped up broccoli in it, then stir in a can of tomatoes with juice, then the tuna, and add some seasonings (an Italian or Greek herb blend works best, but it’s a new version every time I make it!) Put that over some sturdy pasta (cavatappi or farfalle work well) and dust it with a bit of Romano cheese.
@HoneySmacks, yum. I find that “wingin’ it” recipes are often tastier than step-by-step recipes.
@Hannibal, these really are tasty. I blew the food budget and made lobster corn fritters for Memorial Day. They should have been great, but were meh compared to the tuna cakes.
You serve in a sandwich or on top of a salad? These sound good, as a single person tuna is consumed out of the can standing over the sink, trying to keep the cat from climbing up my leg. I’m going to need someone to make these for me. I’ll bring sourdough baguettes.
@Sedevilc, I think that they would be fine in a sandwich or over a salad. I just serve them as the “meat” portion of a meal, with some almond rice and asparagus. They freeze really well; heat them in the oven, or in a frying pan, not the microwave. Hello to the kitty!
They’re really good with baked beans.
There was a really good meat&three in rural Alabama that we used to go to for lunch sometimes that made these, but they were fancy.
They weren’t tuna cakes or salmon cakes, oh no. They were croquettes. Fancy!!
Also they had some creamed corn added to the batter, which probably was something they had on the sides menu as it was. If you have some creamed corn available, highly recommend adding a scoop or two to the batter.