Fish cakes made with fresh-cooked salmon! So incredibly tender and flavorful, especially with spicy mayo sauce! Great way to use up leftover salmon, too.

Photography Credit: Sheryl Julian

My mother loved to mix canned salmon with a few seasonings and shape it into cakes headed for a hot skillet. This meal thrilled us as kids and it was an easy cooking night for her.

Now I make salmon cakes with fresh cooked salmon, which only adds a few minutes to the prep time and makes incredibly moist cakes. This is also a great way to use up leftover salmon from another meal!

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In a hot oven, most cuts of salmon take about 10 minutes per inch to cook. I start it under the broiler to char the skin, which flavors the flesh. If the grill is on, I grill the fish instead of broiling – which is ideal because it adds smoke to the cakes.

If I’m planning a few days’ worth of menus or cooking for guests, I cook the salmon a day in advance. You can also prep the mayo the day before (both salmon and mayo double easily for a crowd).

Some day-old bread – one of last night’s dinner rolls or a slice or two from a loaf — torn into small pieces and an egg helps to hold the cakes together. Some cocktail sauce, fresh dill, and Worcestershire get added for flavor.

Pat the cakes lightly with flour and fry them in oil until the outsides are crisp.

These fresh salmon cakes need a sauce with a little spice to balance their mildness, so I whisk mayo with a little extra cocktail sauce, some Sriracha, lemon juice, and mustard. The mayo isn’t very spicy, but go ahead and shake in more Sriracha for more heat, if you like.

The golden cakes and their rosy sauce are perfect on the back porch or patio, by the lake or sea, or at the kitchen table.