Crispy Salmon Cakes

 July 2025

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen, Season 25

This is the second salmon cake recipe I have tried recently. We enjoyed the first recipe both for the flavor  as well as the convenient preparation. It has been a few months since we tried the first recipe, too long for  a side-by-side tasting, but we can find out it if these salmon cakes are worth having again. 

I used two filets measuring just over 10 ounces total with the skin on; the recipe specified 9 ounces. The salmon was removed from the skin and pulsed a few times in the food processor to a coarse texture, not a paté. A binding agent was made by mixing panko, dill (I used 1 tsp of dry dill rather than 1 tbs of minced fresh dill), mayonnaise, minced shallot, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. The chopped salmon was folded into this mixture along with chopped smoked salmon and capers. The salmon mixture was divided into four portions which were shaped into 1-inch high cakes. These were a little fragile and thus were handled with care. The cakes were coated with panko bread crumbs. The cakes were fried in vegetable oil until golden brown and crisp on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Total time to prepare and cook four salmon cakes was about an hour.

As usual for us and "for two" recipes, this recipe provided us with two dinners. The cakes were crispy with good salmon flavor and not at all fragile. They were a little salty which we speculated came from the smoked salmon. Diane thought they needed a condiment; I had skipped making the tartar sauce that was in the recipe and forgot to serve lemon juice on the side. The leftovers cakes were warmed in a covered skillet over medium-low heat. They came out nice and crispy and were served on slider buns, which they fit nicely. These are worth having again for all the same reasons as the cakes made from the earlier recipe, but maybe without the smoked salmon.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Spices, and Torn Basil

June 2025

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2023

We've made Chicken with Vinegar, a simple easy-to-make dish of braised chicken thighs, several times. Apparently it was so popular that ATK developed several variations which they published a few years ago. I finally got around to trying one of them.

This dish uses mostly pantry ingredients, the only exceptions being fresh basil leaves and coriander seeds. The published recipe is for 8 bone-in chicken thighs, way too much for the two of us, so I halved all of the ingredients; 4 chicken thighs provided us two dinners. The chicken thighs were trimmed, patted dry with paper towels, and seasoned with salt and pepper. They were then browned with oil in a 10" skillet over medium heat and transferred to a large plate. To make a braising liquid, all but 1 tablespoon of fat was poured off from the skillet. Minced shallot and garlic were cooked then ground cumin and coriander were added and cooked briefly. Chicken broth and lemon juice were added and brought to a simmer. The chicken was returned to the skillet, skin side up, and baked in a 325° oven until the chicken registered 195°. The chicken was removed to a serving platter and tented loosely with foil. The skillet was placed on high heat and coriander seeds (lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle) were added. The mixture was brought to a boil and cooked until reduced to about ¾-cup. The heat was lowered to medium-low. A slurry of corn starch and water was whisked in and cooked for one minute. Off heat, lemon zest and butter were whisked into the sauce. The chicken was topped with torn basil leaves and served with the sauce. Total time was 95 minutes, about 30 of which were hands off.

Like Chicken with Vinegar, this is a very good chicken dish. It is easy to make and can be done on a weeknight. The lemon juice adds acidity taking the place of vinegar in the original recipe. The sauce was good on the chicken but didn't go well on potatoes like a gravy would. Also, the torn basil added little to the end product so could easily be skipped. A good dish but not necessarily better than Chicken with Vinegar.