There was not a shrimp to be found in the kitchen today. Salmon cakes would not do for I perfected my favorite recipe grounded upon my Appalachian roots. I want low country flavors! And I have skipjack tuna in a can….
My sabbatical road trip to South Carolina inspired me into a culinary adventure from my own kitchen. My mind brought back memories of Shrimp Cakes from the Down Home Wholesome cookbook I repeatedly checked out of the library. Danella Carter left quite the impression upon this woman when I was a newly married wee lass. (One of the first “mom” recipes I changed up successfully was Salmon Cakes. But that is another story.)
This is not a recipe for the novice yet! Sorry Maggie. But it was too amazing to not post and let those that dare forge ahead with their own culinary masterpiece. (I promise to update the ingredients with recipe instructions for those that delight in the detail steps.)
As any culinary adventurer can attest, there is quite a bit of error along with the trials. So I decided to base todays goal on things I already knew worked well in my Salmon Cake and Maggie’s Tuna Salad recipes.
Egg, flour, and mayo as my binder; horseradish, mustard, and A-1 for the base flavor profile; salt, pepper, and Maggie’s favorite tuna salad seasoning for the top notes of flavor. Onion to add body and because I love them. Skipjack tuna is more robust than the bland white albacore.
I did not have any saltine crackers hense the flour and sea salt. Honestly, even when I have it I add as little bread as possible as I prefer a less ‘cakey’ fish cake. I waited to add the egg until after I was satisfied with the flavor profile and texture.
I heated up my cast iron skillet then added about a quarter inch of grapeseed oil. A deep fryer would work too if you are comfortable rolling things into hot oil. The mix was not dry enough to pat into cakes like I do my amazing Salmon Cakes, so I rolled them off a spoon like I do croquettes.
The first half was dropped by serving spoonfuls into the hot oil. They were tasty but lacked a lot in presentation! The second half tasted just a good, but the results were more photogenic. Use two serving spoons, I rolled the mix back and forth to form a tighter ball before sliding into the hot oil.
I expect a few technical tweaks plus I need to measure out my ingredients for the recipe instructions. I want to experiment with crackers, soft chewy bread cubes, or more flour to perfect the texture. The top note spices became more pronounced as the cakes cooled which I contribute to the repeated tasting as I was developing the mix.
Low country season profiles have a tad sweeter flavor than the spicy Old Bay of my youth or my favorite seasoning profiles developed by Sylvia Woods. The Carolina Seafood season is a whole seed grinder we found at a Fresh Market. But a gullah seasoning can be developed from items commonly found in your spice cabinet. Gullah seasoning is a closer flavor profile to my beloved Ras el Hanout season mix that I put in everything. But that makes sense as Ras el Hanout is Moroccan and the Gullah people trace back to western Africa. I love how food makes the world so much smaller!