Food
Fish Cakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce
These crispy fish cakes are flaky, flavorful, and delicious. Pair them with easy homemade tartar sauce for the perfect meatless supper.
By Yankee Magazine|Aug 19 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
If you tried to use thjs in any Gloucester household in the last century you’d hung from the crosstrees
LOL
Why would you be hanged?
Yes, Dory builder, I would also like to know about getting hanged. The recipe sounds good. Only direction I was not expecting was to cook the fish first. Thank you
Hi Dory, Nancy, and Denise. When I saw Dory’s comment last week I thought it might be in reference to the fact that these fish cakes aren’t the traditional salt cod fish cakes that so many New Englanders grew up with, but I can’t be sure! I love salt cod cakes (and deep fried codfish balls, too), but since cod isn’t a sustainable option in New England right now, we wanted to offer something a little greener instead. Pan frying instead of deep frying makes them a bit healthier, too.
Denise, I think a lot of fish cake dinners are made using leftover fish and mashed potatoes from previous meals, so in that case, half the work is already done! If only all meals could be like that!
Thanks for all of your comments!
I agree – Fish cakes were a simple delicious meal made from leftover cod and mashed potatoes. Dipped in egg and dusted with flour, pan fried in butter. Tarter sauce made with Mayo & relish. Very simple and so good. I grew up on the North Shore of Mass in the 50’s & 60’s.
Another North Shore 50’s & 60’s girl here with the same name who still loves the simple mayo & relish as well as leftover cod & potatoes for breakfast. I would beg my mom to get extra fish from the local market so I could have these. Simple and delicious.
sorry to disappoint you but can buy salted cod in 1 lb packages that I have found at BJ s or other places like that or you can contact HY GRADE SEAFOODS in NEW BEDFORD MASS and they can tell you where you can but it as far as the FISH CAKES I have been making them since I was about 13 yrs old am now in my 70s do the math if you came from anywhere in NEW ENGLAND and used anything but salted cod you better have a good reason and not available is not one of them just my two cents worth.
I agree with gil, my mother used to make these “back in the day” and would ONLY use salted cod and mashed potatoes. I don’t remember any “fancy” items in them and they were the Best !!!!!!!
totally agree!
Who’s disappointed? Some posters noted that they can’t get canned cod.
Hi Gil. You can certainly use salted cod to make fish cakes. Just prepare the fish according to the package directions and then proceed with the recipe. Thanks for your comment!
Hey…..Ummm……I just came here for the tartar sauce recipe, I’m not a part of the lynch mob…. 😀
I always make my own Tartar sauce .. Mayonnaise, dill relish. or capers and lemon juice .. will try to add horse radish next time
I grew up eating Cod Fish cakes and LOVED THEM but I used Cod fish in a can and it only needed an egg added to it. What the heck happened to the canned cod fish? Can’t find it !!!!!!! It was too easy and good so take it off the market! Unhappy Peggy from MD
I miss them too. My Grandmother used Gortons fishcakes in the yellow can. She used some mashed potato, some minced onion, an egg and parsley. Thats it. I would not use all the other stuff in this recipe. It is not traditional.
Different folks have different recipes. That “other stuff” makes my fish cakes mighty tasty.
My Mother used to make cream cod and served over mashed potatoes, topped off with a generous pad of butter salt/pepper. Newburyport Ma. I grew up in the 30’s -40’s
My grandmother used to make the same and out of all the meals served in “milk gravy,” it was my favorite. She grew up in the 30’s and 40’s.
I am Portuguese, which is how Bacalao (salted cod) became a staple of New England cooking due to the vast amount of Portuguese sailors fishing on Cape Cod. Our family makes Bolos, which are oval pan fried salted cod cakes with potatoe, onion, parsley, & eggs. I can only say that the proportions are a family secret recipe. My cousins after tasting my Bolos, adjusted their recipe, which is a great source of pride for my Dad’s recipe. My husband likes to report that he has the “true” recipe that my Dad gave him on his deathbed, but of course I grew up eating them & have my version . This goes to show how important secret family recipes are. It’s like apple pie, or Italians “gravy”
Sauce not gravy gravy is brown
Not if you’re (Philly) Italian.
So true here in Philly!
My understanding is that Italian gravy is red.
Yes, Italians and Sicilians refer to their tomato -based sauces as gravy.
PS Must be fried in Organic 1st cold pressed Olive Oil from Spain
Oh, how I miss New England and all the special foods… this recipe is very similar to a crab cake one that grandma made.
Ok, interesting. I grew up in CT and married a British guy. We lived in New Orleans and made our way to Houston…. here is the mishmash of our culinary trail and me playing in the kitchen making fish cakes….
I use finely chopped raw salmon, mashed potatoes, egg, Dijon mustard, red onion, Wicked Pickles ( a very flavorful pickle, and Slam ya Mama Cajun seasoning, flat leaf parsley. I mix, roll in Pablo or corn bread crumbs and fry. I may add some finely chopped carrot or celery if I have it. It adds color and flavor.
A bit like British fish cakes or bibles and squeak – but using fish not leftover meat, a bit like a latke… all with a nice Cajun flavor. I promise it is never the exactly same each time I make it…. and it is something that has made it to the dinner rotation. A very flavorful mishmash
Oops… a few auto spelling adjustments. PANKO breadcrumbs. Bubbles and squeak.
I always loved my Mom’s cod fish cakes. Usually she used the dried salt cod… sometimes left over fish. The first time I tasted commercial fish cakes, ugh! I hated them… too “fishy”! Thanks for this recipe! Most of Mom’s recipes and secrets died with her, unfortunately.
I grew up in Boston on Groton!s frozen fish cakes in a box. But I can’t find them anymore. I compare everyone I eat to those. Though most are tasty, they are just not the taste I remember. I found some premade ones in a co-op grocery store in Maine once.
I remember they used to serve them in school lunches too. Guess I’ll keep looking
????
If you are talking about grotons i believe you can find in Walmart.
It’s not a town (Groton) it’s a fishstick (Gorton’s)! They were great.
It’s Gorton’s in Gloucester!
Try Market Basket if there is one in your area. Frozen section for Gordon’s seafood products.
Hake and Haddock are the same fish.
We can’t get any hake/haddock here in AZ…just cod and halibut when in season.
hake, haddock, and whiting, all same fish
lived my first 5 years in Southie (Boston) and can still remember “Berlow’s ” fish cakes. Spelling may be off but I am remembering 78 years ago. I think it was a fish store.
As good as Gorton’s were, the fishcakes at the Eastern Avenue Coffee Shop in Gloucester were better ! A Portuguese lady and her husband operated that place for a number of years, and the fishcakes were to die for ! She used corned hake ! Sure wish I had that recipe !
Interesting comments
This is not a meatless meal! You do realize that fish is meat, right? “Fish Cakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce
These crispy fish cakes are flaky, flavorful, and delicious. Pair them with easy homemade tartar sauce for the perfect meatless supper.”
Hi Steven …hope you have taken up cooking !! Ha ha…
My favorite Yankee meal, salt fish in cream sauce or even better salt pork drippings. !
Served over boiled potatoes , raw onions and fried salt pork rinds. Maybe pickled beets on the side. Also known as Cape Cod Turkey.
We always had finan haddie over baked potatoes …then go play in the snow. Back in the good old days in New Hampshire!!!
I am going to make this tonight. I may tweak it for the heat, but plan to follow your recipe pretty much as is. It sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing.
I tried this recipe last night almost exactly as written. I did tweak the hots, but other than that I followed your instructions to a T. It is amazingly easy and so delicious. I used haddock, as it was on sale this week. I baked it for 15 mins, turning after 10 mins. I wish I knew how to send a photo. The fish cakes were so pretty and tasty with your tartar sauce.