Freshwater Fish Cakes: Hearth Cooking

This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for more information.

After a day of ice fishing, there's nothing like warming up by the fire with a crispy Freshwater Fish Cake made from the day's catch! These delicious potato-filled fish cakes can be made with any freshwater fish for a cozy and easy weeknight meal.

What are Fish Cakes?

Fish cakes have been a popular culinary dish for centuries. The cakes are made with ground or minced filleted fish and then mixed with a starchy ingredient like mashed potatoes or rice, herbs, spices, and then dipped in breadcrumbs and fried until golden and crispy. They make an excellent lunch or quick dinner, but they can also be served as an appetizer or side dish!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

• Easy to Make. I love simple food, if you couldn’t tell! This dish is incredibly easy to make and doesn’t require much thought. While I made this recipe in my cooking hearth, you can make it over the stovetop in a jiffy.

• Quick Dinner Recipe. The longest part of this recipe is preparing all of the fillings for the fish cake. But you can easily prepare all of this ahead or simply use leftover ingredients such as leftover cooked fish and mashed potatoes from another meal. This is a great leftover recipe!

• Crispy and Flavorful. These delicious fish cakes are fried in butter and olive oil, giving them a crispy outer layer that is flavorful and delicious. Inside, you’ll find fresh herbs like parsley and dill, which bring out the natural notes of the freshwater fish.

Gathering Ingredients:

• Freshwater Fish Filet. You can use any freshwater fish for this recipe. I used Northern Pike to make my cakes, but you could also use Walleye, Musky, Catfish, Bass, etc.

• Potatoes. Your starchy base will be made with riced potatoes for this recipe. Any potato will work, but for a drier mashed potato, I would suggest using a white baking potato or red potatoes.

• Milk. You can also use water, broth, or half and half.

• Butter.

• Parsley. You can use fresh or dried parsley.

• Dill. You can use fresh or dried dill.

• Garlic Powder.

• Onion Flakes.

• Eggs.

• Breadcrumbs. Any type of breadcrumb will work here, it all depends on your taste. If you do not have breadcrumbs on hand, try using crushed cracker crumbs and omit the salt from the coating.

• Flour.

• Olive Oil.

The Day’s Catch:

For these crispy golden fish cakes, I used two Northern Pike that we caught while ice fishing in northern Wisconsin. Northerns are a great fish for making fish cakes as they have a lot of small bones that are difficult to remove when filleting them. If you are working with a fish that is difficult cut a nice looking filet from, then fish cakes can be a great alternative meal as the filet is minced anyway!

How to Make Fish Cakes:

Step One: Build a hot fire and let it burn for at least 30 minutes to allow it to develop hot coals. Pat your fish filets dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper to your taste. Set these aside on a large plate for now.

Step Two: Fill a cast iron dutch oven with water and bring to a boil, hanging over the fire or placed on a trivet. Add the potatoes to the boiling and water and cook for about 10 minutes, or until they are just softened. Drain the potatoes and set these aside for now to cool slightly.

Step Three: Next, rake out about 20 hot coals from the fire to the front of the hearth. Place a spider skillet or trivet with a cast iron skillet directly over the coals. Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the butter in the skillet and cook the filets in the hot butter, about 2 minutes per side, or until the fish turns white and flakes easily with a fork. The cooking time will depend on the size of your filets. The internal temperature of the fish should be 145° F (63° C). Remove the filets from the skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set these aside for now.

Step Four: Return to the potatoes. Over a large bowl, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or a fine mesh sieve, pressing them through with the back of a spoon. To the riced potatoes, stir in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the milk and 4 tablespoons (57 g) of the butter until they are well combined.

Step Five: Mince the slightly cooled filets into tiny bite-size pieces. Then, add them to the bowl of riced potatoes along with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, the parsley, the dill, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, the onion flakes, and 1 of the eggs. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until well blended, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Step Six: Set out two shallow dishes. In one dish, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) of milk and the remaining 2 eggs. In the second dish, whisk together the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, breadcrumbs, and flour.

Step Seven: Shape the fish cake mixture into about 9 patties, about the size of the palm of your hand. Dip one of the cakes into the breadcrumb mixture, coating it on all sides. Then, dip the cake into the egg mixture, fully coating it. Finally, dip it back into the breadcrumb mixture again. Set the finished cake on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining fish cakes.

Step Eight: Replace the coals from before if necessary and place your skillet back over them. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry about 3 to 4 cakes at a time in the hot butter, about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until the outside is crispy golden brown and the inside is heated through. Set the finished cakes on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Continually monitor your coals and replace as necessary. Watch to make sure that the side of your skillet that is nearest the fire is not over-cooking the food, and turn your skillet as needed to even out the heat.

Tips for Making Perfect Fish Cakes:

• Rice Your Potatoes. Many recipes suggest using mashed potatoes, which you absolutely can! The problem with using mashed potatoes is they are often cooked for too long and are still quite wet. This can make your fish cake “batter” overly wet and difficult to shape. It’s much easier to use riced potatoes as they are a bit more dried out. If you do not have a potato ricer, you can press your cooked potatoes through a fine mesh sieve.

• Let Your Ingredients Cool Down. It can be more difficult to shape the fish cakes when all of the filling ingredients are hot. If you have the time, let everything cool down. You can also prep the filling ingredients ahead of time and leave them in the refrigerator to chill, mixing everything together just before you are ready to fry the cakes.

Serving Suggestions:

The crispy fish cakes are ready to serve as soon as they are pulled from the hot skillet! Place one or two fish cakes onto a place with a side of tartar sauce and some fresh greens like parsley, dill leaves, or even some baby arugula. This gives the plate some vibrant color, whetting your appetite! I love serving fish cakes alongside roasted carrots or even a delicious bowl of homemade potato soup.

Final Thoughts:

I love having a delicious homemade fish cake after a day of fishing! They are especially tasty in the winter time when you’ve spent the day out on the ice. These breaded fish cakes make a perfect weeknight dinner, lunch, or even served as an appetizer. It can be a real treat to enjoy a perfect fish cake while warming up by the fire.

xoxo Kayla

---

Yield: 9

Author: Kayla Lobermeier

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Freshwater Fish Cakes with Northern Pike

After a day of ice fishing, there's nothing like warming up by the fire with a crispy fish cake made from the day's catch! These delicious potato filled fish cakes can be made with any freshwater fish for a cozy weeknight meal.

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 H & 30 M

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 large potatoes (835 g), peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk, divided
• 3/4 cup (172 g) salted butter, divided
• 1 lb (454 g) Northern Pike filet or other freshwater fish such as walleye, musky, catfish, bass, etc
• 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1 tsp black ground pepper, divided
• 1 tbsp (6 g) fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried, minced
• 1 tbsp (6 g) fresh dill leaves or 2 tsp dried, minced
• 1 tbsp (9 g) garlic powder, divided
• 2 tsp onion flakes
• 3 large eggs, divided
• 1 cup (150 g) breadcrumbs
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• Fresh greens for serving such as parsley, dill, or baby arugula
• Tartar Sauce, for serving

Instructions

To Prepare on the Stovetop:

1. Pat your fish filets dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper to your taste. Set these aside on a large plate for now.
2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes to the boiling and water and cook for about 10 minutes, or until they are just softened. Drain the potatoes and set these aside for now to cool slightly.
3. Next, place a large skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the butter in the skillet and cook the filets in the hot butter, about 2 minutes per side, or until the fish turns white and flakes easily with a fork. The cooking time will depend on the size of your filets. The internal temperature of the fish should be 145° F (63° C). Remove the filets from the skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set these aside for now.
4. Return to the potatoes. Over a large bowl, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or a fine mesh sieve, pressing them through with the back of a spoon. To the riced potatoes, stir in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the milk and 4 tablespoons (57 g) of the butter until they are well combined.
5. Mince the slightly cooled filets into tiny bite-size pieces. Then, add them to the bowl of riced potatoes along with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, the parsley, the dill, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, the onion flakes, and 1 of the eggs. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until well blended, about 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Set out two shallow dishes. In one dish, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) of milk and the remaining 2 eggs. In the second dish, whisk together the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, breadcrumbs, and flour.
7. Shape the fish cake mixture into about 9 patties, about the size of the palm of your hand. Dip one of the cakes into the breadcrumb mixture, coating it on all sides. Then, dip the cake into the egg mixture, fully coating it. Finally, dip it back into the breadcrumb mixture again. Set the finished cake on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining fish cakes.
8. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry about 3 to 4 cakes at a time in the hot butter, about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until the outside is crispy golden brown and the inside is heated through. Set the finished cakes on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
9. Serve the fish cakes hot with fresh greens on top and tartar sauce for dipping.

To Prepare over the Fire:

1. Build a hot fire and let it burn for at least 30 minutes to allow it to develop hot coals.
2. Pat your fish filets dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper to your taste. Set these aside on a large plate for now.
3. Fill a cast iron dutch oven with water and bring to a boil, hanging over the fire or placed on a trivet. Add the potatoes to the boiling and water and cook for about 10 minutes, or until they are just softened. Drain the potatoes and set these aside for now to cool slightly.
4. Next, rake out about 20 hot coals from the fire to the front of the hearth. Place a spider skillet or trivet with a cast iron skillet directly over the coals. Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the butter in the skillet and cook the filets in the hot butter, about 2 minutes per side, or until the fish turns white and flakes easily with a fork. The cooking time will depend on the size of your filets. The internal temperature of the fish should be 145° F (63° C). Remove the filets from the skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set these aside for now.
5. Return to the potatoes. Over a large bowl, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or a fine mesh sieve, pressing them through with the back of a spoon. To the riced potatoes, stir in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the milk and 4 tablespoons (57 g) of the butter until they are well combined.
6. Mince the slightly cooled filets into tiny bite-size pieces. Then, add them to the bowl of riced potatoes along with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, the parsley, the dill, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, the onion flakes, and 1 of the eggs. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until well blended, about 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Set out two shallow dishes. In one dish, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) of milk and the remaining 2 eggs. In the second dish, whisk together the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, breadcrumbs, and flour.
8. Shape the fish cake mixture into about 9 patties, about the size of the palm of your hand. Dip one of the cakes into the breadcrumb mixture, coating it on all sides. Then, dip the cake into the egg mixture, fully coating it. Finally, dip it back into the breadcrumb mixture again. Set the finished cake on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining fish cakes.
9. Replace the coals from before if necessary and place your skillet back over them. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry about 3 to 4 cakes at a time in the hot butter, about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until the outside is crispy golden brown and the inside is heated through. Set the finished cakes on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Continually monitor your coals and replace as necessary. Watch to make sure that the side of your skillet that is nearest the fire is not over-cooking the food, and turn your skillet as needed to even out the heat.
10. Serve the fish cakes hot with fresh greens on top and tartar sauce for dipping.

Notes

• You can use any type of fish that you like for these cakes, not just freshwater fish.
• If you want to save time, you can use leftover mashed potatoes for this recipe. You may have to adjust the fillings a bit or add some flour to the mix depending on how moist your mashed potatoes are from added ingredients!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

425

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @underatinroof on instagram and hashtag it #

---

You Might Also Like

---