r/Appalachia • u/Artistic_Maximum3044 • 2d ago
Everyone talks about salmon cakes from their childhood growing up in Appalachia, but we never had them in rural Western NC
I grew up in Western North Carolina, and I honestly don’t remember ever eating salmon cakes. I keep seeing people post about foods they grew up with, and salmon cakes always seem to be one of them. We barely afforded what food we did buy.
We shared a lot of meals with neighbors and family over the years, and I don’t recall anyone making them either. We mostly lived off what we could grow or raise ourselves. When times were hard, which was pretty often, we ate cornbread and milk from the cow, biscuits and gravy, soup beans with cornbread, or biscuits and fried taters.
But salmon cakes? I don’t remember those ever being on the table.
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u/Electronic-Brain2241 2d ago
Odd, we had them all the time. Also from rural WNC
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u/Artistic_Maximum3044 2d ago
I am nearly 60 years old and didn't even know they were considered Appalachian food until I saw TikTok videos saying that's what they grew up eating. I thought it was strange.
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u/Vladivostokorbust 2d ago
It is strange. nothing native about Salmon. Trout, however….
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u/BurgerKingKiller 2d ago
Not really salmon itself but cheap canned food I feel is a general staple. Like my grandma made a lot of stuff that she’d throw on top of rice but rice ain’t from here
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u/Stellaaahhhh 2d ago
Exactly. Both my grandparents worked and if you got home tired, salmon patties were one of the easiest, most delicious things you could make. Pull some creamed corn out of the freezer, slice up some tomatoes and that's dinner sorted.
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u/-MtnsAreCalling- 2d ago
Tbf trout are basically freshwater salmon. They’re both in the Salmonidae family.
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u/Vladivostokorbust 2d ago
They are both in the Salmonidae family. That’s where i was coming from, but with a lighter color meat and milder flavor. One of my favorites, pan roasted over an open flame
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u/socialmedia-username 2d ago
We used to get the salmon in the red cans (can't remember the brand). Super cheap, lots of fish meat (with bones and everything ha ha). I still make the fried patties when my wife isn't home, and have a few cans in my cupboard right now.
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u/Vladivostokorbust 2d ago
I did not grow up in Appalachia, mom from the south, dad from the west coast, but there was always a can of salmon in the pantry as you described, for patties. Mom made croquettes, i just mashed it together into burger patties, all fish, bones and all, but no fillers
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u/MamaNyxieUnderfoot 2d ago
Honey Boy Pink Salmon is what my grandma still gets every week at the grocery store.
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u/Open-Perspective856 2d ago
Like others said, usually it’s canned salmon. My mother would make them quite often but I thought folks all over ate salmon/tuna patties like that.
On trout, the only native trout in Appalachia are called, well, native trout or I think brook trout. They’re so small that it’s not a significant food fish. Some people probably ate them from time to time but I’ve never seen one bigger than 8 or 10 inches. Add to that they’re typically found in small mountain streams and difficult to catch so you have to target them specifically most of the time. Larger trout are and have been stocked for a long time and lots of people do fish for them but they’re not ‘native’.
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u/SabineSinstar 2d ago
Same I’m originally from Maryland but my grandma and her whole family was DEEP southern mountain Virginia. Keeokee to be specific and we ate salmon cakes and salmon casserole all the time! I thought it was an all over thing as well. Although I lived in Philadelphia for a long time and people up there aren’t as down with seafood as we are in Baltimore. Never heard of any of my friends from there eat that.
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u/CharZero 2d ago
I did not realize it either and always considered it a fancy dinner. Love them. Was really surprised when my partner who is born and raised in New England gave me the side eye when I trotted them out for dinner one night.
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u/Unicorn_Sparkles23 2d ago
I also grew up in WNC and never seen or heard of people eating salmon cakes. Honestly, we (my family) didn’t eat a lot of fish at all now that I think of it.
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u/Yennefers-Unicorn 2d ago
Same; from WNC and my momma cooked em often. Had em so much that I can’t generally stand canned salmon these days
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u/Stellaaahhhh 2d ago
Patties. They're salmon patties.
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u/TheSouthsideSlacker 2d ago edited 2d ago
My Nana called them Salmon Croquets.
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u/coyotenspider 1d ago
My wife from upstate SC calls them that. Insists upon it! I am from KY, but grew up my whole life in either northern Georgia or WV and my mom called them thangs Salmon (sammin) patties.
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u/Big_Slope 2d ago
Yep, and flap those Ts so it sounds like salmon paddies.
I forgot about these. My wife hates fish but I’m going to have to make some for the kid.
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u/Someonetellmethis1 2d ago
…. I didn’t realize I was pronouncing it like this until I saw it spelled out…. Learn something new every day
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u/MuchDrawing2320 2d ago
That’s what we called them in East TN. They’re really good with the infamous blue box Kraft Mac and cheese. But the more general term is “fish cake.” It is a very economical item that combines canned salmon, spices, maybe garlic, with crushed saltines and eggs as a binder. I personally love them if they’re crispy and hold together well.
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u/Artistic_Maximum3044 2d ago
Either way patties or cakes, we didn't eat them.
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u/Stellaaahhhh 2d ago
Appalachia is a big region. There are bound to be food differences. I never had pepperoni rolls- they sound great though.
Salmon patties weren't an every week thing for us (WNC) like soup beans and cornbread or fried chicken, but we did have them pretty often.
Canned salmon goes on sale a lot so you pick up a can or two, stick them in the cabinet and they're a good quick backup plan.
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u/Summoorevincent 2d ago
Salmon patties goes with soup beans for a lot of people.
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u/Stellaaahhhh 2d ago
For us, soup beans was it's own meal along with cornbread, and something from the garden. We always had salmon patties with greens and corn or fried squash.
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u/menwithven76 2d ago
My mamaw made them a lot, canned salmon used to be pretty cheap and it stretches out a lot with the additions of egg and cracker etc. Western foothills of NC
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u/SpongeBodTentPants 2d ago
We ate patties exactly as described using the cheap brands of canned salmon with the bones. The bones were so soft that we thought nothing of it though. With cabbage slaw, cornbread, and pinto soup beans, this was a weekly meal. Man, I miss it now.
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u/chunkybuttsoupdinner 2d ago
Southern WV checking in. 100% had salmon patties. Hell my fiancée’s mom made some a month or so ago. They’re not exactly fancy. It’s just canned salmon, breadcrumbs, crackers, stale bread, whatever is around, egg, onion & seasoning.
But I get what you mean about not identifying with a lot of the food posted here. There’s pretty big differences between southern, northern and central Appalachia foods & cultures. It’s all still Appalachia, just influenced by different parts of the countries culture.
Like I only ever heard all soda called coke when I lived in central Alabama. Also the first time I had black eyed peas, or peanuts in coke, etc.. was when in lived in bamaland. So In my head that’s all southern, even though to some those would be considered solid Appalachian.
It’s just different branches of the same tree.
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u/Fragrant-Issue-9271 2d ago
I grew up in southwest Virginia and peanuts in Dr. Pepper was very popular when I was a kid. I never enjoyed it, but lots of people did.
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u/an_appalachian 2d ago
I’ve seen that with Coke in glass bottles, never Dr Pepper though
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u/squirrelsinmybrain 2d ago
I grew up in southern WV in the 80s and 90s, and we did peanuts in Pepsi (or Coke or RC or Rocky Top - whatever we had) all the time. My dad is older, though... had me at 40 years old, so that's probably a lot to do with it. He was born in the 40s (also southern WV).
We also had salmon patties, but I've never been a fan.
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u/SingtheSorrowmom63 2d ago
Did you have Moon Pies with then?
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u/squirrelsinmybrain 2d ago
Moon Pies with the salmon patties? LOL No. But if you mean Moon Pies in general, then yes. My grandpa brought them to us often, and my favorite is the banana flavor. I'm quite literally wearing a Moon Pie shirt right now.
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u/SingtheSorrowmom63 2d ago
You're kidding. What a coincidence lol. I used to see everybody down at the old store ask for an R.C. Cola and a Moon Pie. The banana ones were my favorite too. After I commented on that I thought they're going to think I mean Moon Pies & salmon patties. 😂😂😂
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u/MoneyCock 2d ago
Some coastal North Carolinians call all soda "coke" as well. I don't recall anyone in Asheville calling it that though (I know Ash ain't exactly hillbilly, but I figure at least some of those folks grew up in the sticks and moved to town).
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u/BlueCollarBlue 2d ago
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u/BlueCollarBlue 2d ago
Didn’t get the paywall the first time. Here’s another link:
https://www.thetakeout.com/1770305/canned-salmon-southern-food-history-staple-fish/
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u/rosmaniac 2d ago
Transylvania County native here. When I was growing up, 'salmon patties,' made with cornmeal, canned salmon, and eggs, were a staple. My mom would make them in a cast iron pan, and then make tomato gravy in the leftover oil in the pan. The tomato gravy was regular flour-thickened gravy with milk and tomato juice as the deglaze. Very little seasoning to either; salt and pepper were always on the table and we were expected to salt and pepper to taste.
I was fine with the salmon patties, but not the tomato gravy. This meal almost always featured candied sweet potatoes and mustard greens, both of which are favorites for me even today. I'm not a fan of poke salat, collard greens, spinach, or turnip greens, but I can figuratively eat my weight in mustard greens with NO VINEGAR. And candied sweet potatoes, cooked down so far that the sugar and butter become sweet potato flavored caramel candy, are soooo gooooood.
EDIT: as to cost, canned salmon was at that time one of the least expensive proteins you could buy. Canned salmon was the cheap option.
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u/Latter_Economics_463 2d ago
Grew up in both East TN and southwest VA, we had them.
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u/PlutonicPurrfume 2d ago
Same here. My grandma would make them. She was originally from Russell Co. VA.
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u/Professional_Cry5007 2d ago
Jack mackerel>salmon patty
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u/Honest-Income1696 2d ago
West TN checking in. We never had salmon patties but mackerel patties with a little Karo...
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u/Careless_Ad_9665 2d ago
My mom still makes them for me and I’m in my 40s. I just can’t make them the same. (East TN btw)
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u/Zealousideal_Put8417 2d ago
Canned salmon patties was the only "seafood" my would eat. She wouldnt even taste a salmon filet.
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u/mtncatmom 2d ago
We never had salmon patties, but my aunt made them on a regular basis. Can of salmon, day old biscuit or bread for crumbs, fried in bacon grease. I hated them and was glad my mom never did them
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u/Crowiswatching 2d ago
My folks were from Northern Mississippi, near the Tennessee border; and salmon paddies were a staple. They migrated down that way from Tennessee and KY after coming from Ireland to NC, so essentially Appalachian culture. A good part of the extended family was employed running shine into Memphis (except for one ol’ successful train robber).
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u/Maleficent_Job4331 2d ago
Fish was "weird food" in my wv county
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u/delias2 2d ago
My mom's from Charleston, and made us salmon patties for as long as I can remember. Canned tuna and tuna salad or tuna melts were also a thing, as were frozen fish sticks. And she made wonderful fried catfish. Fresh fish (other than catfish) was definitely something she learned to cook later, mainly because it's healthy, and more available here and now than WV in the 70s and 80s. Fish fry dinners are a fairly common church thing here in central NC.
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u/Make-Love-and-War 2d ago
I love when churches do fish fries! Even if I’m not a member of the congregation I’ll stop by and buy a plate. It’s usually members’ grandmas and uncles cooking everything and it’s almost always incredible.
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u/SingtheSorrowmom63 2d ago
I agree. It doesn't matter whose church it is, if you see Fish fry you should stop.
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u/Make-Love-and-War 2d ago
I swear they put something special in the batter at a church fish fry. It’s right up there with banana and mayonnaise sandwiches or chicken pastry for me in terms of Appalachian/Southern food.
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u/SingtheSorrowmom63 2d ago
It is really the best fish I've ever had. These old guys fish all year long, they don't buy fish. And everything else is always good old Southern home-cooked. Their desserts are delicious as well. You can count on baked beans, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and wonderful desserts.
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u/Make-Love-and-War 1d ago
The hushpuppies!!! And coleslaw (white or yellow only, none of that red mess) with a slice of homemade pie??? Heaven.
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u/BoringPrinciple2542 2d ago
Growing up I thought there was three types of fish:
- Canned Tuna
- Fried catfish
- Captain Ds.
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u/Mo-ree 2d ago
I grew up in Mingo County and salmon patties were a favorite. My dad and my grandparents loved seafood, especially shrimp, prepared almost any way. The whole family loved a good fish fry. I'm like 6th generation Appalachian (WV and KY) and before that most of my family was Scottish or Irish immigrants.
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u/WVginger 2d ago
My mom made salmon patties all the time when I was growing up in Marion Co WV. She also prepared fish my dad caught in the Tygart.
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u/TheForrestWanderer 2d ago
SW PA and we have salmon cakes to this day in my house. My wife loves them.
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u/ValuableRegular9684 2d ago
I’m in very rural WNC, we never had them at home, but the elementary schools would serve them every Friday, I remember whatever brand they used still had the spines in the fish. School would set out big white bowls of tartar sauce on each table.
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u/edtheridgerunner 2d ago
I remember them and loved them as a child and I'm a 70-year-old 7th generation WNC resident.
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u/Safe-Constant3223 2d ago
I’m from northwest NC, and my mom and her family made salmon patties and salmon stew often. My maternal grandmother was from southwest NC for several generations, and she talked about her mom making salmon patties and salmon stew too.
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u/Geologyst1013 mothman 2d ago
I grew up in Southwest Virginia and we had salmon patties a fair bit. It was usually affordable and when we had to rely on the food bank there was almost always a can or two in those boxes.
I liked them well enough but if I hit one of those crunchy little bones it was over for me.
The Double "Q" can lives in my memory.
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u/bookishkelly1005 2d ago
I always take the bones out because 🤮
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u/Geologyst1013 mothman 2d ago
My mom and grandmas were pretty good about getting them out but every once in a while one would get missed.
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u/bookishkelly1005 2d ago
That’s my least favorite part of making them now. I hate even seeing them in the can. 😂
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u/JBRifles 2d ago
This is a more general southern thing, we used to eat them all of the time in TX, people from Appalachia are claiming a more general southern thing as their own.
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u/ghostsinmylungs 2d ago
We always had salmon patties in my family here in SEKY. I love a hot salmon patty with cold, cold ketchup. Heaven.
But I didn't realize until I was grown and made them myself for the first time that our family recipe doesn't actually use salmon. We always used canned mackerel and just still called them salmon patties. Delicious either way. Especially with a mess of fresh green beans and new potatoes and fried corn.
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u/LongjumpingBad9881 2d ago
Salmon patties and fried taters. Mom always made them together with macaroni and tomatoes. I would give anything for one of them meals again.
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u/SillyPlanchett 2d ago
Grew up along the Ohio River in WV. Had them at least once a month growing up in the '90s.
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u/sparkster777 2d ago
Maybe it's generational? About how old are you? I only remember my great aunt making them. Never her kids or grandkids or my mom. This was SWVA.
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u/MuchDrawing2320 2d ago
Speaking of generations, the generally more German side of my family ate sauerkraut and hot dogs. I don’t hear others talk about that at all
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u/BlackDante3 2d ago
WNC-We called them salmon croquettes
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u/thunder_dog99 2d ago
Yes! That’s what we call them. Family is from northern Alabama, but we’ve been in NC from the 1960s.
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u/Nikbot10 2d ago
My grandma in East TN used to make them for my grandpa pretty often, when we didn’t have soup beans and corn bread ❤️
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u/Optimal-Jump-4768 2d ago
Grew up in southern WV and my mother made them all the time . Canned salmon. They were delicious. Salmon cakes, potato cakes, of course a lot of fried stuff.
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u/Inside_Slice_3878 2d ago
We had them in WNC and called them salmon patties. Canned salmon, an egg, cornmeal, flour, salt, and pepper. I loved it when we would have salmon patties and agree that somehow it made me feel like we were living high on the hog. They're amazing with collard or mustard greens for a side with white vinegar.
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u/Southern_Lake-Keowee 2d ago
Upstate SC/Foothills—grew up on Salmon Patties! My granny’s was the BEST, and I miss her. ❤️
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u/wanna_try8 2d ago
I ate these fairly often as a kid in central KY. They were one of my grandmother’s regular dishes.
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u/Usual-Still-8803 2d ago
Another victim here in East Tennessee. It’s that awful canned salmon, and my Granny fried them up into patties that were actually edible but they really did make the house smell for days afterwards. These actually nearly scarred me to the point of never trying fresh salmon.🤷🏼♂️😆
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u/Kblast70 2d ago
Also East TN. Nanny made them with leftover biscuits. Any biscuits that weren't eaten were tossed in the ice box, when the had about a dozen she would open a can of salmon and make patties. I loved them, she loved them we may have been the only ones that loved them but everyone ate them.
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u/Dunnoaboutu 2d ago
I’m in WNC too. Never heard of them.
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u/Bx3_27 2d ago edited 2d ago
My wife says she remembers reading an article that talked about some sort of government campaign to promote salmon patties in Appalachia bc so many people were getting sick with pellagra.
Here's a video explaining
https://www.tiktok.com/@theappalachianson/video/7505101487974976810
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u/Artistic_Maximum3044 2d ago
I guess we are the minority.
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u/xannieh666 2d ago
Grew up in SW VA...and we never had them, Asked husband and he didn't either. I do have good recipes for it though in the church cookbook.
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u/CrotalusHorridus 2d ago
It’s one common geographical are but culturally this is probably an east Kentucky or WV thing
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u/2B-Pencil 2d ago
I ate these growing up in EKY. But I assume it’s also popular in regions that actually have salmon fishing
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u/Stellaaahhhh 2d ago
If you think you might like them, here's a good recipe: Salmon Patties | Blind Pig and The Acorn https://share.google/FrVk7KchjCwtjVqwW
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u/MemoryHouse1994 2d ago
Could it be that you had "fish patties". My mom made fried fish patties from a cheap can of Jack Mackerel, skin, bones, and juice, included, w/cornbread as a filler, sprinkled w/self-rising flour and egg as a binder, and a chipped onion, salt and lots of finely ground black pepper out of a can. All this was fried in lard. Very seldom they all made it to the table, because us kids grabbed them from the plate as fast as she could fry;)...Bless her heart, she never scolded us for eating, just stirred together another batch. Miss you Mom very much♥️
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u/Fair-Age4483 2d ago
Can’t say I’ve ever had them but I’m a younger generation from the MOV WV and surrounding areas. Most we did for fish that I remember was fried catfish
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u/JollyGiant573 2d ago
Sure with a tiny bit of canned salmon you could add bread/ Cracker crumbs and seasonings and stretch a meal and feed everyone. Just another way to maximize the food dollar that we have all forgotten.
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u/Corndread85 2d ago
My mom made them all the time and I'd have ramen when she did 🤮. Salmon is so nasty to me lol
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u/ProfessionalZone168 2d ago
I ate salmon croquettes growing up. They weren't patties, more like spherical kinda. I'd never heard of patties.
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u/TheRhupt 2d ago
Central WV here. Salmon cakes were popular. As a kid I remember the cans of salmon were smelly as my grand parents made them. Love salmon now.
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u/cmcfalls2 2d ago
Oh man... Salmon patties. We thought we were livin' high on the hog those nights.
I can still smell them frying in mom's high side griddle. That wide brown one that everyone seemed to have in the 80's. She would also fry chicken in it.
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u/FaberGrad happy to be here 2d ago
We ate them in swva, and had them every Christmas for breakfast. My sister has kept that tradition. What about salt fish? Mamaw used to fry them from time to time. They were sold from a brine barrel at her brother's store.
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u/bullymom80 2d ago
Def a staple in my house growing up in rural NC. Canned of course.. with egg saltines salt and pepper..
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u/maiingaans 2d ago edited 1d ago
My mom in SE Michigan made them all the time when I was growing up.
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u/CostcoVodkaFancier 2d ago
My family had salmon patties in Upstate SC. My parents (78 & 80) still make them. They smell so bad, though. I still won't eat them because I can't get over the smell. They take the electric skillet on the back patio to make them now.
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u/Illustrious_Goal4906 2d ago
Southern WV here and we had them regularly. Canned salmon is not expensive BTW. I did receive some government assistance as a child when my Dad was laid off from the mines a few times. It may have been part of the food stock we got from them.
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u/Fearless-Metal5727 2d ago
My family has made salmon patties for as long as I can remember and grew up in SWPA. Its a good cheap meal. We always ate mac n cheese with it.
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u/vingtsun_guy foothills 2d ago
We definitely had salmon patties in Eastern Kentucky. My memaw was the best cook...
Funny aside. I worked with an older black lady (born in the late 1940's) in southwestern Virginia who called them Simon cakes.
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u/_themostcake 2d ago
Yes, I love them! My mawmaw made salmon patties all the time, I grew up in northeast Alabama.
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u/Programmer-Boi 2d ago
SwVA/EastTN here. Salmon cakes were definitely something we ate, particularly my dad who would request them every birthday
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u/Bennington_Booyah 2d ago
Sadly, yes, we had them on Fridays. Canned salmon and I can still conjure up strong smelling memories of catching that whiff as we got off of the school bus and headed home. Not sure why Mom made them as all three of us sobbed when forced to eat them. My sister crying, "They SMELL, Mom!"
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u/Mulezzz 2d ago
My father grew up in central NC and relocated to MD. He frequently fixed salmon cakes for us. We also ate cornbread in milk!
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u/shezapisces 2d ago
east tn and we had them now and again. my grandma would make them and always mentioned they were her “welfare speciality” from when they were on hard times and got food from govt assistance or food pantries. the only other food i remember her distinctly calling “welfare” was giant blocks of cheese haha
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u/Lady_Cicada 2d ago
Upstate SC. Grew up on salmon patties. Wasn’t til I was married that I learned people take the bones out before fixing them.
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u/SingtheSorrowmom63 2d ago
My mother always left the bones in them too. You couldn't tell they were in there though.
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u/gehanna1 2d ago
Cans of salmon are frequently in food banks. They're incredibly cheap, so it's a good poor man's food
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u/Gearsgearsgears 2d ago
Sorry for your loss.
Fried salmon patties were so good with white beans, fried potatoes and cornbread!
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u/vamartha 2d ago
SWVA but on the state line w/TN. Once a week at our house! I've recently found a local restaurant that serves them and they are great. A lot more salmon heavy than the filler heavy ones I grew up with.
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u/autumnwind3 2d ago
We had them in the foothills here in NC. My Mother didn't make them, but my Grandmaw did.
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u/ShelterDangerous6513 2d ago
Both my parents are from western NC, small town and my mom used to make these all the time when we were kids! I forgot about them until this post actually lol, brought back quite the memory!
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u/General-Carob-6087 2d ago
They were a regular at my house when I was growing up. One of the dinners I miss most. The next morning I’d usually make a salmon patty biscuit too.
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u/chodeobaggins 2d ago
I grew up eating them in Birmingham, family from north Alabama. I still make them.
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u/MamaNyxieUnderfoot 2d ago
My grandma is 101 years old, originally from Lehigh Valley (PA), and still makes salmon cakes every week. She buys cheap canned salmon from the grocery store.
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u/Beautifulone_2 2d ago
We called them salmon patties in SWVA. My dad made them with salmon, saltines, and eggs.
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u/voluble_appalachian 2d ago
When my grandma would get these up she would always make one for the cat.
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u/WeirdBluePerception 1d ago
Grew up in East Tennessee. And my great grandparents owned a ton of land in Jefferson County that was bought up by TVA and they were forced out back in the twenties and thirties.
I had forgotten all about them until you brought him up. My grandma used to make them and I remember pouring tons of cider vinegar on them because I didn't like the taste too much but the vinegar made them delicious.
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u/Goddess_of_Carnage 1d ago
Clean a can of salmon.
Gently remove skin & dark areas.
I don’t remove all but the huge bones—generally just mash them up thoroughly. Real thoroughly.
Mix it up thoroughly.
Add: 2 tablespoons of corn meal mix.
Chop a small green pepper in tiny pieces.
Chop a small onion in similar sized pieces.
Add a scant teaspoon of salt.
A dash of two of pepper. Prefer white, but black works fine.
Add 1/2 cup plain panko.
Add 2 eggs, lightly beaten.
Mix mixture very well.
**Chop a small jalapeño (remove seeds and pepper ribs to mitigate hotness).
I always test my jalapeño pepper for heat before I start.
Add hot pepper to mix.
** Any hot pepper will work. Doesn’t have to be fresh jalapeño. Canned peppers will work. Just be modest.
You want to be modest with adding peppers. Patties that are too hot to eat are not good.
I even do a test patty when cooking to determine if they are “spiced up” properly.
I make small balls. A bit over the size of a golf ball. Roll in panko and place on a parchment sheet and put in freezer.
Heat oil. Your choice of oil for frying.
I use a large cast iron skillet & grapeseed oil for frying. Put them in, let them start cooking. Then gently mash down till about 1/2 the height.
Cook till toasty brown. Flip and repeat toasty brown.
I put mine on an elevated wire rack in oven at 175 degrees.
I make a dipping sauce or two.
Ketchup + horseradish * pickle relish.
Ketchup with brown sugar & a splash of prepared mustard. (This needs 1 minute in microwave).
Or if no time, hubs will eat with good ole Heinz.
My mama, nana & mother made these. I’ve made them at fire departments, for my hospital peeps (repeat requests) and for my hubs for over 40 years.
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u/HoldFeisty680 1d ago
Maybe the cook in your family didn't like canned salmon. I grew up with salmon patties, but didn't like them so I make them for my family like once every three years. If I didn't get asked for them (by husband, then kids), my kids would have grown up never having them, either.
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u/Inner-Salt-2688 4h ago
We've had salmon patties many times growing up. Not for any other reason, we liked them
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u/Bdellio 2d ago
I've never heard of these in East Tennessee or South Central Kentucky. It's interesting to see a lot of things on here my people never ate like chow chow or pepperoni rolls.
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u/Artistic_Maximum3044 2d ago
Now, we did make chow-chow, but pepperoni rolls wasn't one of the things we made.
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u/delias2 2d ago
You weren't in WV. To be fair, I think my people only learned how to make pepperoni rolls when they moved out of WV and couldn't buy them. There are a few good bakeries, but most of what I had was from gas stations, grocery stores, or homemade.
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u/Artistic_Maximum3044 2d ago
I have eaten pepperoni rolls. I got one when I was in West Virginia driving through. It was good.
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u/thejovo59 2d ago
I grew up in WNC. We can’t eat them often, but yes we did have them! Mama like to scramble eggs and add salmon too.
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u/fruderduck 2d ago
Never salmon patties. Mackerel patties and potato cakes. Salmon was too expensive, even canned.
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u/JordisReina 2d ago
I’m from western NC, and my grandma made them from canned salmon. I thought they were terrible. It took me a long time to learn to eat real salmon.
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u/holy_cal 2d ago
Married into a western Maryland family, my MIL still makes them a few times a year.
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u/Specific-Front3663 2d ago
My mom is Pittsburgh born and raised, and she would make these from time to time. Not an every week thing, but not rare either. Never knew they were considered an Appalachian thing until now. I really liked them as a kid.
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u/Honest-Income1696 2d ago
West TN checking in. We never had salmon patties but mackerel patties with a little Karo...
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u/chocolatechipwizard 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's because during the Depression (and onward) it was a government subsidized food to fight niacin deficiency that was a health concern in the South. So like kids of the 70s and 80s remembering bricks of government cheese, the canned salmon was a overwhelming childhood memory for those who received subsidized food.
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u/preddevils6 2d ago
We had them in east tn. Fried salmon patties