Fish Cakes in a Skillet
Pouch fish, crushed saltines, and powdered egg fried into cakes, with a mayo-packet dipping sauce.
- calories
- 960
- weight
- 9.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 101
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 120 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Foil-pouch fish | two 5 oz pouches | catfish if you can find it, otherwise salmon or tuna |
|---|---|---|
| Saltine crackers | 1 sleeve | crushed to crumbs at home |
| Powdered whole egg | 3 tbsp | stands in for 2 beaten eggs |
| Dried minced onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried bell pepper flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Tabasco sauce | 2 tsp | |
| Worcestershire sauce | 2 tsp | |
| Salt and ground black pepper | 1/2 tsp each | |
| Olive or vegetable oil | 3 tbsp | in a leakproof bottle |
| Mayonnaise packets | 4 packets, about 1/2 cup | |
| Lemon juice | 1 tbsp | the plastic squeeze bottle kind |
| Chili sauce or ketchup | 1 tbsp | |
| Dry mustard | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Put the dried onion and pepper flakes in a mug with 60 ml of cold water. Leave them ten minutes while you set up the stove.
- Mix the sauce first: mayonnaise, lemon juice, chili sauce, dry mustard, a teaspoon of the Worcestershire, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Set it aside and keep it out of the sun.
- In the pot, flake the fish with a fork. Add the drained vegetables, the egg powder, 60 ml of cold water, the Tabasco, the rest of the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper.
- Work in the cracker crumbs a handful at a time until the mix holds a shape when you squeeze it. Stop there. Too many crumbs and the cakes go dry.
- Form four patties about an inch thick.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium. Fry the cakes four to five minutes a side, one flip only, until the crust is brown and firm.
- Eat with the sauce on the side.
The original is a way to use up leftover fried catfish, which is not a thing you have in camp. Foil-pouch fish gets you to the same place: already cooked, already flaked, no cooler. Powdered egg and cracker crumbs do the binding that eggs and crumbs always did, and the dried onion and bell pepper rehydrate in the time it takes to light the stove.
The water measurements matter more than the cracker measurement. Too wet and the cakes fall apart in the pan; too dry and they crumble when you flip them. Squeeze a test patty before you commit the whole batch. The sauce is mayo packets and pantry bottles, so it keeps fine in a pack, but mix it before you start frying because you will not want to stop mid-cook.
Packing
Crush the crackers at home and bag them with the egg powder, dried vegetables, salt, and pepper. Fish pouches, mayo packets, and the small bottles ride together in a second bag. Nothing needs a cooler.
Variations
- Instant potato flakes can replace up to half the crackers if you want a softer cake.
- A packet of taco seasoning in the mix instead of the Tabasco and Worcestershire changes the whole thing.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/pan-fried-catfish-cakes