Salmon Patties - Fish for a Tight Budget

I am not a menu planner. Instead I rely on a long list of recipes that my family enjoys, and a pantry that is well stocked with the ingredients to make those meals. Most of our meals start with simple, economical ingredients. My cooking may seem to some a bit old fashioned. In fact, my favorite cookbook was published in 1965, but my family is not complaining, and neither is my pocket book.

One thing that can be difficult to incorporate into meals on a budget is fish or seafood. We all know that fish is good for us. While I'd love to serve my family a nice grilled fillet of salmon on a regular basis, it simply is not in our budget. The much cheaper option is to use canned salmon.

For many years I avoided canned salmon. The thought of picking out all the bones was simply repulsive to me. Then I started noticing that most recipes did not say anything about picking the bones out. In fact, many actually stated that you should leave the bones in.

The canning process makes the bones very soft. The bones give your dish and extra nutritional boost by adding calcium to your meal. I decided to meet the bones in the middle. I pick out the larger bones, but don't bother trying to get every bone out. It only takes a minute to get the big bones out, and honestly, those remaining bones do not change the texture of the dish.

Most often I use canned salmon for salmon patties. Making salmon patties (which can be formed into a loaf also) is like making a meatloaf. You can use a wide variety of ingredients, whatever you have on hand, to mix up a delicious and economical meal for the family. Below is a basic version to start with.

A couple of hints to be sure your patties make it out of the pan as patties, and not as crumbles:
Make sure your pan is good and hot before you put the patties in.
Do not flip the patties until the bottom is done. You will be able to see the brown on the bottom edges.