Bass Fishcakes

[Goodweed of the North]

I had the wonderful luck to land a 3 1/2 lb. smallmouth last Saturday measuring 17 3/4 inches from lip to tail. I skinned and fillet' the fish and put it in a freezer bag from which I removed all of the air. Taht night, I cooked up the first fillet and was somewhat dissapointed at how bland the fish was. It wasn't like the trout or salmon I so love. I had just dredged in flour and lightly salted it as it pan-fried in a bit of oil. So tonight I had to try again. The results were so good that I had to turn my experiment into a recipe, and I share it with you.

First, don't expect an overpowering anything, but rather, a delicate blending of some potentially powerful flavors. The end result was well flavored and delicate, with each ingredient adding to the totality, but not commanding center stage. So I invite you to try this recipe, and of course as with all of my recipes, feel free to change it, make it yours.

Bass Fishcakes
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh bass fillets
1 red-ripe jalepino pepper
1 medium egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dill weed
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tbs. lemon juice
3 marble-sized spring onions, with 1 inch of the stems

Preheat your best stick-free pan (I use cast-iron) over medium heat. Mince the fish , pepper, and onion. Place into a bowl with the remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed.

Add 3 tbs. cooking oil to the pan. Place enough of the fish mixture into the pan to make a 3-inch disk, about twice the thicknes of a completed pancake. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Flip the fishcake and cook an additional 3 minutes, again with the lid on. Remove to a searving plate, or onto a cookie sheet. Cook the remaining fishcakes until all are done.

Of course, if you are cooking a bunch of these, you can place more fishcakes into a larger pan, or on a griddle.

Serve with a tossed green salad and your favorite dressing. But remember, the fishcake is a fairly delicate flavor. So try to keep the other sides toned down a bit. I'm thinking a good cole-slaw would be good also, and maybe some sweet potato. Enjoy.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

[kitchenelf]

Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing your recipes GW! Nice fresh flavors in there too!!!!

[Uncle Bob]

I'll take two, and a baked sweet tator!!

[Maverick2272]

Man those sound great! And good idea on the sweet tator UB! I think I would like to add some sweet corn on the cob to it and all set!

[attie]

Is Bass a fresh water fish GW, we do not have running rivers here so the only fish we get that are influenced by fresh water is the Barramundi who migrate to the flood planes and lakes during the wet season to breed. We stock our dams with them for sport fishing but they will not breed living in just fresh water and those caught there have very little flavour.

[Goodweed of the North]

Originally Posted by attie

Is Bass a fresh water fish GW, we do not have running rivers here so the only fish we get that are influenced by fresh water is the Barramundi who migrate to the flood planes and lakes during the wet season to breed. We stock our dams with them for sport fishing but they will not breed living in just fresh water and those caught there have very little flavour.

Yes, bass are a fresh-water fish. But you could use any firm-fleshed mild-flavored fish, such as tilapia, sea bass, pollok, cod, flounder, halibut, orange roughy, etc.

Unfortunately, living in the great lakes area, salt water species of fish are limited, and expensive. So, beyond those I've already named, I can't really give you a lot of options. I do know that the strong flavors of salmon, mackeral, tuna, swordfish, and others like them, would overwhelm the delicate herb and spice flavors from this recipe. But you could always increase the ratio of the other ingredients compared to the fish. The flavors would work well with most fish.

And, what do you mean you have little fresh water fishery available to you. I saw the program where the people paid a guide to fly them into remote lakes, where better than a century ago, trout were planted. And now, due to the extreme remoteness, and the subsequent dirth of fishing activity, every cast nets you a huge brown, or rainbow trout. So put on your hiking boots and go walk-about, with fishing pole in hand. Who needs a plane? I hear that Aussies are a very tough group.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

[attie]

That would be the Snowy Mountain system GW, about 5000K south of where I live, they get snow there so there's no way I'll be going fishing there. Apart from there we have very few if any rivers that run with fresh water continuously.
Anything below +5C is life threatening to me

[Maverick2272]

Aww... where's your sense of adventure! LOL