[foofie]

I made salmon cakes tonight, from scratch as opposed to my tried and reliable friend aka 'frozen store bought' and TBH they were a floppy disaster They still got eaten by everyone but DS turned his nose up at them 1/2 way through cooking and said 'bleaugh! i'm not eating that' they were super soft and they crumbled and never formed in the fry pan.

I had mashed potato, tinned salmon, grated zucchini and then I had them just in breadcrumbs. I know I should have had an egg in it for binding but the spuds were too hot and I was worried about them cooking and going blah before frying IYKWIM?

I am not painting a pretty picture of our meal tonight am I?

So where did I go wrong? Were there particular spuds I should have used, how many eggs should I have added? And how long should I have refrigerated them prior to frying? And anything else that I have missed which made them such lovely slop concoctions...

Your help would be appreciated, not only by yours truly but also my suffering family tonight

[Strawberries]

did you add milk/butter to the mash? maybe too much
drain well?

hmmm?

[Guest_dixiebelle_*]

Too much moisture, esp. with the zuchini. Did you squeeze the juice out of the zuchini after grating it? That might help... day old mashed potatoes are usually drier too. You could have tried adding some flour, more breadcrumbs or something else to 'stiffen' them but it can take away from the flavour and texture. You could also try adding some 'instant mash' flakes...

[foofie]

Nope I didn't add milk/butter to the mash and the zucchini had really seen better days, hence me including it cause it was going dry and shrivelled

[Guest_dixiebelle_*]

I often end up adding more flour to mine, but another option is to add a can of Cream of (Mushroom) soup, a tin of champignons and some cream, and call it Mornay instead!!

PS. I love your zuchini description!

[vonnegutesque]

Also, how did you mash the potatoes? doing it with a mixer or processor makes them gluey and floppy.

Next time add a little flour or breadcrumbs and egg, and definitely chill it before cooking, this makes a world of difference.

And when you do cook them, don't over crowd the pan as it will make the temperature drop too much and they collapse.

[Princess123]

Don't over mash the potatoes, leave the potato to cool down, then add an egg to bind. Dip the fish cake in egg, then coat in bread crumbs. Hope this helps - I have never used salmon though, I normally make mine with fresh white fish.

[KimminyCricket]

Foofie I always bake mine rather than cooking them in a pan as they're always too mushy. That way you use less fat (oil or butter in the pan) and they crisp up a treat on the outside.

They usually take about 50 minutes in a moderate oven.

HTH

[foofie]

Thanks for your comments and help. I will be trying out a few of those different suggestions. Looks like the family will be getting fish/salmon cakes a few more times until I master it

[AprilEthereal]

Don't over mash the potatoes, leave the potato to cool down

I was just about to suggest the same thing.
I lightly smash them.
Have another try, I'm sure they'll be a success.
Another tip which makes them extra tasty, I make my own breadcrumbs. Simply toast some good quality grain bread, let the toast cool down then whizz them up in your food processor.
If you want a more crisp finish, put the crumbs on a baking tray in the oven to lightly brown & crisp. You can also add some parmesan cheese to the breadcrumbs for an extra treat.