Ina Garten-Inspired Salmon Cakes

Compiled by Igor Kukolj, Editor. Nobody here has cooked this — how these are made.

When salmon cakes collapse, the instinct is to add another egg or more breadcrumbs. That gives you a firm cake that tastes of breadcrumbs.

The mixture needs time, not more binder. Breadcrumbs have to absorb the moisture around them before they can hold anything together, and the fat in the salmon has to firm up. Half an hour in the fridge does both. Shaped straight from the bowl, the same mixture is loose and wet; shaped after chilling, it holds without a single extra crumb.

Chill again after shaping if you have the time. Cold cakes hitting hot oil set their crust before the inside has a chance to loosen.

Cook the salmon rather than using tinned

Roasting a fillet at 200°C for twelve minutes and flaking it gives you large moist flakes and a clean flavour. Tinned salmon brings brine and a softer texture that turns the cake pasty. If you do use tinned, drain it hard and pat it dry.

Fold, do not stir

Every stroke breaks the flakes down further, and the point of a good salmon cake is that you can still see the fish in it. Combine the base first, then fold the salmon in at the very end with a spatula, five or six turns.

Medium heat, not high

The cakes are already cooked through — you are browning them, and browning takes time at a temperature that does not scorch. High heat gives a dark crust and a cold centre, and it is the second most common reason a cake breaks up as you turn it.

Storing

Two days cooked, in the fridge. The uncooked mixture keeps a day and shaped raw cakes freeze well on a tray, then bagged — fry from frozen over lower heat for about seven minutes a side.