Apple and Smoked Bacon Salmon Patties

Growing up part of a large southern family, you learn to cook for many, rather than few and the recipes shared are always budget-friendly. I can remember going to my grandparents house, helping to make drop biscuits and salmon patties for twenty people, while busily catching up on the weekly gossip. Sometimes when I'm feeling especially nostalgic, picking the bones from a can of salmon, squishing the mixture between my fingers and hearing the sounds of grease spattering soothes the longing for days past. 

Apple and Smoked Bacon Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

1 Can of Salmon

4 Slices of Smoked Bacon

1 Small Apple, Diced

1/2 Red Onion, Diced

2 Tablespoons of Water

1/2 Cup of Whole Oats

1/4 Cup of Flour

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon of Salt and Black Pepper, Each

Cooking:

Carefully pick the bones from the salmon, and then wash the salmon in a fine mesh strainer to remove most of the fishiness. Fry the bacon in a large pan and reserve the grease for frying the patties. Remove the bacon and chop. Toss in your onions and apples into the bacon pan. Add the water to degrease the pan, be sure to scrape up the brown bits from the bacon. Once the onions are translucent, pour them into a large mixing bowl with your salmon, bacon, oats, flour, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. In the same frying pan, pour a tablespoon of grease back into it, and bring it up to medium heat. Take a ball of mixture about 2 inches in diameter and flatten into a 3/4 inch disk. Place into your frying pan. You can add multiple patties, but there should be about an inch around each patty for even frying and maneuvering. You will probably need to do this in several batches, adding more grease as needed. Fry each patty until golden brown on each side. Remove and place on a baking sheet. Once all patties are fried, finish them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

The classic preparation for a salmon patty is in a drop biscuit with yellow mustard, but you can eat them in any way. In the picture above, I used a dijon mustard with capers and honey.