Crunchy Crust Salmon Croquettes

Salmon Croquettes are one of the great comfort foods for eating on a chilly Fall day. I keep several cans of Wild-Caught Alaskan Salmon in the pantry cupboard for those days when you want something a little different and really good to eat for dinner. 

Two kinds of breadcrumbs help make these salmon croquettes extra crunchy and delicious. Crispy baked Panko breadcrumbs serve to lighten up the croquette dough seasoned with greek yogurt, parsley, shallots, green onions and lemon juice. Asian Sesame Panko breadcrumbs seasoned with black sesame seeds, garlic, onion, chile pepper, and ginger give these croquettes a wonderful spicy brown crust that is crispy and so deee-licious. Serve with coconut rice and wedges of fresh lemon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 ~6 ounce cans of Wild Alaskan skinless boneless pink salmon
1 cup plain baked Crispy Panko breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons of thick Greek yogurt
2 shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
4 green onions, very finely chopped including some green tops
¼ cup fresh parsley very finely chopped
2 eggs, well beaten
1 – 2 tablespoons of flour (optional)
½ teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
olive oil for frying
½ cup Panko Asian Sesame Bread Crumbs

Directions:

Combine the well-drained salmon, salt, plain Panko breadcrumbs, yogurt, shallots, scallions, green onions, eggs, parsley and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Stir ingredients together until they are thoroughly mixed. The salmon must be well mixed with all the other ingredients or the patties will not hold together. You may want to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to adjust the consistency of the salmon mixture to make it easier to handle. Refrigerate the mixture in the bowl for 1/2 hour before you try to shape it into patties.

Next, spoon some of the well-chilled salmon mixture into a 1/3-cup measuring cup and gently pack it with your hands. Unmold the pattie dough and shape it with your hands to form a 2 inch wide patty. Spread some Panko Asian Sesame breadcrumbs out on a plate and press the patty into the breadcrumbs coating both sides. Place each patty on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat to make about 8 patties.

Add olive oil to a non-stick 12 inch pan. Bring the temperature up to a medium heat. Transfer patties to the skillet with a spatula and cook, turning once until they are golden brown. This will take about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and keep warm until all the patties are cooked. Serve with coconut rice and wedges of fresh lemon.

Cook’s Note: You can make your own Panko Asian Sesame bread crumbs by adding some garlic powder, onion powder, hot chili powder, ginger, and toasted black sesame seeds to Panko Crispy Baked bread crumbs. Give it a whirl in a small food processor to thoroughly blend all of the spices and breadcrumbs. The hot chili powder adds some heat to the crumb mix, but you can add more or less of this as you prefer.