THE LAST APPRENTICE
FISH/SEAFOOD
The Famous Butt Cakes
All right folks, you asked for it! We serve a lot of seafood on the M/V Explorer in Alaska and I frequently end up with cooked leftover Halibut, Salmon, Crab, Shrimp as well as the uncooked trim pieces from Halibut and Salmon. Well, what I do is freeze all this good stuff until I get enough to make Butt Cakes (so called because Halibut is usually the main ingredient). This recipe varies depending on what seafood I got hanging around at the moment, however, the spices and other ingredients usually remain the same.
This is a great lunch favorite and I always make extra for the freezer cuz in the yachting business you never quite know when you might have to whip some grub up in a hurry cuz the sea's been so rough that you can't cook. Serve with fresh Tartar Sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
| Assorted Seafood, cooked |
8 Cups, chopped fine |
| Red Pepper |
1/2 Cup, small diced |
| Fresh Garlic |
2 tablespoons, minced |
| Yellow Onion |
1/4 Cup, small diced |
| Celery |
1 Cup, small diced |
| Dill Pickle |
2/3 Cup, finely diced |
| Bread Crumbs or Cracker Meal |
enough to bind - you'll just have to guess! |
| Old Bay Spice Seasoning |
2 Tablespoons |
| Fresh Ground Black Pepper |
1 Teaspoon |
| Salt |
1/2 Teaspoon |
| Dill Weed, dried |
1 Tablespoon |
| Lemon Juice |
3 Tablespoons |
| Fish Sauce |
1 Tablespoon |
| Mayonaise |
1 1/2 Cups |
| Eggs, large |
3 Eggs |
DIRECTIONS:
In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients, except the bread crumbs/crackermeal, and mix thoroughly.
When completely mixed add enough breadcrumbs or crackermeal to just hold a 3 inch pattie together. That's just enough to keep it from falling apart when you saute it. Start with about a cup of crumbs and see what you get, add more till you get it right. Don't use too much or they won't be nice a flaky.
Shape about ten of this mixture into a 3" pattie. Heat a little oil in a heavy saute pan and lightly brown each pattie on each side. I cook about 4 of these at a time and between batches I make up the rest of the patties.
Transfer the browned cakes to a baking tray and cool.
When ready to serve heat cakes in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve. Extra cakes can be frozen on the tray and after they're frozen placed in plastic freezer bags till needed.
W. Patrick Brown.Copyright © 1998 by chefpatrick.com. All rights reserved.
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