Fish cakes rank right up there with meatballs in my book: Comforting. Easy. Tasty without pretension.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook fancy food, too. But you can’t do that every day. Some days are for trout cakes. Specifically, those days after you catch lots of trout. Or kokanee. Or salmon, or whatever.
I use trout or kokanee because I like the play of mild, slightly oily trout with all the herbs. Salmon is just as good, especially a pink or chum salmon. But bluefish, mackerel, or another oily fish would work, too. And I won’t get mad at you if make this with bass, catfish, crappie, etc.
While it’s not specifically necessary, I find that the best fish cakes are made with “spoon meat,” which is meat scraped off the carcass of fish before they are cooked. You can get quite a lot of meat off carcasses this way — more than a pound on a big chinook salmon. The fish will cook perfectly well in the pan. Of course, you can also use leftover fish, too.
What separates this trout cake recipe from my salmon patties or my other fish cake recipe is herbs. Lots of herbs. They are a great counterpoint to the fish, and brighten things up quite a lot. A squeeze of lemon is all you need on them.
I like eating these as-is, or with a green salad. Any leftover cakes can be reheated gently in a pan or a 300°F oven and used as a great sandwich filling with some lettuce, tomato and mayo.
These trout cakes freeze well, too. Cook them first, then freeze, tightly wrapped, for up to 6 months.
Trout Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 pound trout meat, skinless and boneless
- 1 cup minced onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- 1/4 cup chopped tarragon or dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Cook the minced onion with the butter in a small pan over medium heat until translucent, but not browned. Remove from the pan and let cool.
- Chop the trout meat with a knife into bits. You can chop very roughly and then pulse a couple times in a food processor, but you want the trout in little pieces, not as a paste.
- Mix all the remaining ingredients (except the frying oil) together in a large bowl. Form cakes with your hands. I like them about the width of my palm. You will need to wash your hands a couple times to remove debris; this helps you make cleaner, nicer cakes.
- Let the cakes sit in the fridge for 20 minutes or so -- this lets the breadcrumbs absorb moisture, which helps your cakes hold together.
- Heat the frying oil in a large, wide pan over medium-high heat. Fry as many cakes as will fit in one layer without touching. Cook them until each side is golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Serve hot.
How would you modify this recipe if you have leftover cooked trout instead of raw? Thanks.
Max: No real need to, although the texture will be different. It will hold together with leftover fish.
I added a fresh sliced Jalapeno to give these a little kick. Reminded me so much of crab cakes, which we love. Thank you.
Hi are the breadcrumbs fresh or dried?
Cheers
Meegan
Meegan: Dried.
Is the trout supposed to be cooked before adding to the recipe? Or can you use leftover cooked trout?
Elisa: Nope, it’s raw. The fish gets cooked as a cake, not before, in this recipe. It works well.
I made it tonight for dinner with some Rainbow Trout I got up in NC. Delicious!!!! I used the Dill instead of Tarragon which was an option when making it. Outstanding!
Made this again for the umpteenth time, every bit as delicious as the first! I substituted garlic chives and used a mix of tarragon and dill this time because that’s what I had on hand. I also followed another reviewer’s idea and made an aïoli dipping sauce out of mayo, lemon juice, and garlic. I’ll definitely be doing that again too! Thanks, Hank, as always!!
Used a pint jar of trout.(Kokanee).
Modified the recipe somewhat, in that as a non oil user, “fried” the onion in vegie broth. Didnt use food processer.
Didn’t add mayonnaise, added some old fashioned oats.
Air Fried 7 minutes/5 minutes..at 380
Awesome recipe!
Added to keepers.
Thanx.
This recipe is outstanding, everything I hoped for when I read the ingredients. I air fried the cakes for 6 minutes per side at 400 degrees and sprayed both sides generously with Olive Oil beforehand. Would definitely make it again! Great as a fish burger with tarter sauce and lettuce.
Made last night with Arctic Char….fantastic. Great, easy recipe and will will try with different fish.
Had some left over fresh trout so made this and it was easy, tasty and quick. I didn’t use frying oil as we popped them in the air fryer and it worked out really tasty and crispy . Everyone loved them and we will definitely be making again . Thank you for posting the recipe ?
I had a half pound of trout fillet left over from last night’s dinner but wanted to make this recipe for four people so I used my leftover trout and added some canned salmon. Didn’t have parsley but I did have fresh tarragon from the garden and used some dry dill weed. Looks and smells great so far, the patties are in the fridge now. I’ll let you know how it goes.
So good. Made with leftover grilled trout. Pretty quick and satisfying meal. Since i had also made a recipe of rhubarb salsa, i used these fish cakes to make really good fish tacos. Over the top and good warm or cold. Thanks for the recipe!
Had fresh caught trout in the freezer and didn’t want it to go to waste. Not enough for a dinner but enough for an appetizer. Skinned it and followed this recipe. Delicious. May tweak it with some sautéed bell peppers next time but “as is” was great! Wish I could add a picture. Definitely photo worthy!
These cakes are absolutely sumptuous. I baked a 3kg sea trout for dinner guests and had quite a bit left over. Made these the next day for the family for lunch, grandchildren and adults alike “vacuumed” them up. Delicious combination of herbs. Certainly will be making these again.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
As someone who only cooks with store bought salmon, I wasn’t sure what to do with a creek trout when I was asked to prepare it for my family. There were WONDERFUL. I made a dipping sauce with plain yogurt, a bit of oil oil, 2 garlic cloves and a few squeezes of lemon. If I was served this at a restaurant I would be pretty happy about it.
Caught a bunch of trout that we were trying to decide what to do with. Found your recipe on line searching trout recipe’s. Decided to give it a try and they are great! Definitely will become a regular during our fishing season. Did take quite a bit more time to prepare than was suggested.
That was bomb. Thanks for the recipe. I air fried them 15 minutes then set on toast for 10 min each side. Much lighter. My air fryer is a couple years old. adjust for your own preferences. Delish!