Bajan Fish Cakes
Jul 17, 2023
"When I was growing up, my parents always held my birthday parties at the house. They would rent tables, chairs, gigantic speakers, and balloon arrangements. One of my cousins or neighbors would DJ, and some kind of entertainment was booked for the children. The menu varied from year to year, but there were two things that would always make the list: my mom’s elaborate birthday cakes (like, seriously impressive cakes) and fish cakes. These delicious salted cod fritters can be made as spicy as you like with Bajan hot pepper sauce, a Barbadian-style yellow hot sauce made from Scotch bonnet chiles. If you can’t find it, you can use your favorite hot sauce." -- Leanna
This recipe was shared by Leanna in Episode 5 of Season 2 of The Great American Recipe.
This recipe was shared by Leanna in Episode 5 of Season 2 of The Great American Recipe.
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Ingredients
For the Fish cakes:
- 8 ounces boneless salted cod fillets
- ½ cup minced white onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Leaves from 4 thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons Bajan hot pepper sauce, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup water
- Vegetable oil, for frying
For the dipping sauce:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- Juice of ½ lime
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 1–2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or chives
Instructions
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In a medium pot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the salted cod and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the water from the pot, leaving the fish in the pot. Add 2 quarts fresh water to the pot, bring to a boil again, and boil for another 5 minutes. Repeat this process up to 6 times. (The purpose of this process is to boil out the excess salt from the fish so that it is not too salty. Pinch a small piece of the fish after boiling to make sure you like it. If it is still too salty for your taste, just repeat until it tastes the way you like it.) Drain and transfer the fish to a medium bowl.
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Using a fork, flake the fish. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, and thyme and mix well. Stir in the black pepper and Bajan pepper sauce and mix well. Stir in the butter and mix vigorously to make sure there are no chunks of butter. Add the flour, baking powder, egg, milk, and water. Stir until you have a chunky batter.
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Pour about 1 inch oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F. Using a tablespoon, carefully spoon the batter into the skillet to make each fish cake. The fish cakes should not touch while frying, so work in batches as necessary. Fry the first side of the fish cakes until golden brown, 5–6 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to carefully turn the fish cakes over and fry the other side until golden brown, another 5–6 minutes. Transfer the fish cakes to a paper towel–lined plate.
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While the fish cakes are cooking, make the dipping sauce. Combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, sriracha, and parsley in a bowl and stir until fully incorporated.
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Serve the fish cakes with the dipping sauce.
