Blackened Redfish Cakes
I haven’t been able to go red drum fishing in a while, but I’ve heard they’ve been biting pretty good recently. If you’re like me, you always enjoy a good piece of fresh drum.
Over the years, I’ve figured out how to turn one fish into a meal for more than a couple of people. You may also use any white fish for this recipe.
You will need:
1 redfish (red drum) 18”-27” (filleted, skinless, and boneless)
1 sleeve Saltines (crushed)
1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers
3 eggs
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard (or yellow)
1 small green onion (chopped)
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 small red pepper (diced)
Blackening spice (your favorite)
To begin, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place filets in a lightly oiled pan, and then season with salt and pepper.
Now place your fish in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until fish is flaky. Remember not to over cook.
Once the fish is cooked, set it aside and let it cool. Now it’s time to work on the cake mixture.
I like to crush crackers in their bags and then add them to a large mixing bowl. If the crackers are still a little chunky, that’s okay.
Now add your egg, mayo, mustard, and celery seed to the bowl and mix with the crackers. This should form a hamburger consistency.
Once you can form a cake, you can fold in the fish and the rest of the ingredients. When adding the fish, make sure you flake the fish gently to keep it in chunks.
Once you have formed cakes, heat a large sauté pan with enough cooking oil (canola, peanut, or vegetable) to equal 1/4 inch deep in the pan. Bring oil to 360-370 degrees. Before placing them in the oil, season each side of all the cakes with the desired amount of blackening spice.
Brown each cake 3-4 minutes on each side. And feel free to adjust the heat if the cakes browns too quickly. Enjoy.
Eat American caught seafood!
Chef Danny H.
Danny Hieronymus was born and raised in Wrightsville Beach into a commercial fishing family and has been catching fish throughout NC all his life. He has also been cooking with his mother since he was 8 years old in the family restaurant. He can be reached at capefearcookin@yahoo.com.
