Tinned Mackerel Fish Cakes with Capers
Tinned mackerel fish cakes loaded with parsley and capers in a crisp breadcrumb coating go a long way to prove that canned fish isn't rubbish!
Preparing these fishcakes takes a while, but it is very easy, and all of the preparation can be done in advance. Once the preparation is complete, it takes less than 10 minutes to cook them.
Canned or Tinned Mackerel Patties
I have always had a thing for fish cakes, it kinda goes all the way back to my school days... but also, fish cakes were the only fish that was considered affordable from the chippy when I was growing up.
Now I have a confession, those fish cakes were rubbish, but I have plenty of examples that I genuinely adore.
I have everything from classic and indulgent smoked haddock fish cakes to spicy Thai tuna fish cakes, and some delicious fresh salmon fish cakes to some marvellous fennel and chive crab cakes.
My latest offering, fish cake offering uses tinned mackerel, and they are stunning.
The idea came from a pasta dish in a Gordon Ramsey cookbook, and he was extolling the virtues of good quality tinned fish and mackerel in particular.
The oily fish is glorious with the sharp capers that I pair them with, and loads of fresh parsley lightens everything up.
Mashed potato holds everything together before they are coated in a crispy crumb... which I think must be fried in butter.
I do have suggestions for air frying and oven baking them, too, for those of you watching your waistline!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these fish cakes in advance?
Yes, you can prepare the fish cakes and then chill them for up to 2-3 days before cooking them.
Can I freeze these fish cakes?
Yes, once you have your patties breadcrumbed, place them in the fridge to firm up for at least 10-15 minutes. Then sandwich a piece of baking parchment between them before popping them in a bag and freezing them.
I cook frozen fish cakes by frying them on one side until golden, flip them and transferring them to an oven at 180°C or 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
Can I cook these in the oven or air fryer?
You can, although they will never get the same crisp golden crumb as they do when you cook them in butter.
To oven bake them, cook them at 180°C or 350°F for 12-15 minutes, to air fry them, cook them for 10-12 minutes at 170°C or 340°F.
Can I use leftover mashed potatoes?
First of all... leftover mashed potato??? That really does not compute for me!
Secondly, yes, but with a caveat, the more indulgent your mash, the less good it is in this recipe because the dairy content in the mash can make everything too soft and squidgy.
If you are going to use dairy-rich mashed potato, then I would use tinned mackerel in spring water rather than in oil and drain it before using it.
Serving Suggestions
I have served my tinned mackerel fish cakes with some homemade tartar sauce and roasted tenderstem broccoli in these pictures.
If you want a warm sauce, then a simple parsley sauce would be absolutely perfect.
Creamed leeks are also an awesome side to serve with fish cakes, and the subtle onion flavour is perfect with oily fish too.
A nice salad works incredibly well with these crispy golden treats, my pickled fennel salad with lentils would work really well, and my samphire and pea salad would be genius too.
Tinned Mackerel Fish Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Small-Medium Potato 350g
- 1½ teaspoon Salt (for boiling potatoes plus extra if required)
- 2 Tins Mackerel in Olive Oil 125g or 4oz each
- 50 g Capers ¼ Cup
- 20 g Fresh Parsley 1 Cup (loosely packed)
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
- 4 tablespoon Plain Flour
- 1 Large Egg
- 50 g Dried Breadcrumbs ½ Cup
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 50 g Butter 3 tablespoon
Instructions
- Peel the potato and chop it into 2cm (¾) cubes, then boil them in a 20cm or 8" saucepan of salted water (1 use 1 teaspoon of salt in a pan this size) until cooked, which should take 12-15 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry for a minute or two, then mash or rice them into a medium mixing bowl.
- Drain the tins of mackerel, flake the flesh, and add the flesh to the mashed potatoes.
- Roughly chop the capers and add them to the potato mix; finely chop the parsley and add it to the potato mix, then give everything a stir, have a taste and add salt if required.
- Form 4 fish cakes from the potato mix and transfer to the fridge to firm up for 10 minutes. These fish cakes will weigh around 125g or 4oz each.
- Place the flour in one bowl, and the egg in another and lightly beat it, then place the breadcrumbs in a final bowl.
- Lightly crush the fennel seeds, add them to the flour and mix through.
- Dip the fish cakes into the flour first, then into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs, then place them back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Heat a 30cm or 12" frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the cooking oil, followed by the butter.When the butter begins to foam, add the fish cakes and cook them for 2-3 minutes. Flip the fish, add the remaining butter and cook for a final 2-3 minutes, basting the patties as you go.
These are delicious - we'll definitely make them again. Bought fishcakes from the supermarkets are generally such a disappointment. I added some crispy prawn chilli flakes to liven them up further. I think these will become a regular eat here - and yes - cheap as anything!
Hi Diana...
Glad you enjoyed this, you are right, store bought fish cakes can be a real mixed bag on quality, it is so easy for them to skimp on the fish to bump up the margins.
I have a weakness for fishcakes, so there are a few more knocking aorund on my website if you hit the search button in the menu 🙂
Thank you for taking the tome to comment and review.
Brian 🙂
Excellent flavor and texture. Easy to follow instructions
Glad you enjoyed it Phyllis, thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know 🙂
Brian
Excellent flavor and texture
Absolutely fantastic. thanks!! added lemon zest and dill as there was no parsley - definately make again
These are fabulous, healthy and delicious. I used a large tin of mackerel in brine, cheap as chips. Has become a staple in my menu repertoire.
For those of us trying to add more oily fish into our meals, this recipe is perfect. I’m going to try these out on my grandchildren for a omega-3 brain booster!
I loved fishcakes when I was growing up... hopefully your grandkids do too 🙂
It seems shrinkflation has hit tinned fish since I couldn't find a 5 oz tin. Made this recipe with a 4.05 oz and it was great. Subbed out the fennel seed for cumin and it was delicious and super easy to make.
Glad you enjoyed it, I'm gonna have to revisit many of my recipes, I am not sure whether it is UK tins shrinking or there being different size tins available where I used to live in Central Europe.
Hello, love the sound of this, but what does "3. Rice the potato when warm..." mean? I'm no expert so not sure if its some cooking term I've never heard of or a typo!
Hi Betty, sorry it has taken a while to respond to you, I had taken some time out to deal with a family illness.
I've updated the recipe to make my intentions clearer, thanks for pointing out that it was not as clear as it could be. I use a potato ricer to make mashed potato and have for years, I think that they make the best mash, I've updated to say mash or rice and then mentioned a potato ricer 🙂
I hope that helps.
Thanks again.
Brian
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I swapped the capers for olives as I didn't have any and they turned out fabulous! I plan to make extra for the freezer next time, they were very popular:)
You are more than welcome Elle, thank you for taking the time to tell me that you enjoyed them!
Very nice easy recipe, I didn't have capers or parsley and used gluten free breadcrumbs but they still turned out lovely. Will do this one again.
So glad you enjoyed it Helen, these are my favourite fishcakes 🙂
I failed with the presentation as always, but I tell you what, it tasted really nice, I should have left it in the fridge a bit longer but I blame my mum who rang me up from Iceland (where she lives and I´m in the UK).. it´s not all about looking fancy as long as it tastes nice and we live and learn 🙂 I hope you and your family have had a good Christmas and a happy new year to you. Rakel and co x
Food is all about flavour, I have to make my food look "attractive" or no one would click on it, but it all comes after flavour 🙂 So glad you liked this, it's such an old recipe on my site and I love it, I cook these all of the time 🙂
Have a good New Year
Brian
I doubled the amount of mackerel when I made these- very tasty
Sorry. For those of us who are not conversant with cooking terminology, your point number 10 is "pointless" - Mix together the plain flour and ground fennel seed and add some salt and pepper to season, then begin to pane the fish cakes.
What is meant by "pane the fish cakes"?
To pane something is to dip in eggs, flour and breadcrumbs and the description on how to do it follows in the next step of the recipe. I will add in some tet to explain what this means in coming days.
You can't beat a fishcake and these look great. I've never used mackerel before but love the tinned stuff and perfect for a store cupboard dinner!
I love quick recipes that don't feel like I'm just "settling" when I eat. They look delicious.
I love fishcakes and I have to say I have never tried them with mackerel but I will now for sure. These look absolutely amazing and so appetising that I could not possibly give them a miss. Thank you for sharing Brian! ??
You can't beat a fishcake and these look great. I've never used mackerel before but love the tinned stuff and perfect for a store cupboard dinner!
Cheers Amanda, I love fishcakes, I have another new recipe working on them lined up for next week 🙂
I love quick recipes that don't feel like I'm just "settling" when I eat. They look delicious.
Thanks Julie
Thanks Juli
I love fishcake! I have to say I have never tried them with mackerel but I will now for sure. These look absolutely amazing and so appetising that I could not possibly give them a miss. Thank you for sharing Brian!
Thanks Ramona, I love fishcakes too, I am working on another variation for publication soon. Enjoy!
I'm moving in. That's all. What's your address? 😉
Fish cakes are a childhood fav of mine. My mom always made them from scratch - none of this frozen food section stuff from the grocery store.
Love that you served these up with pickles and the addition of the capers - yum!
Hahaha, just rock up south of to Lake Tisza and start asking around I am sure someone will eventually point you in my direction 😉
My mum always got them straight from the freezer as I am sure did the school dinner 'cooks', but they were still an enduring memory that has stuck with me.
Imagine how indulgent these would be topped with an egg for brunch!? Over here they love to do that with crab cakes, and I'd imagine mackerel would work just as well.
Now that sounds like a real plan, maybe for a light lunch... I don't get the brunch thing and am never sure what it is, if you have breakfast and lunch there is no need for brunch. If you skip one then so be it but aint no point in combining the name of the two and making it up 😉
Your pickle artwork is positively on-point with this one, Brian! 😛
Hehehe, well a guys gotta try 😀
Love this idea! I can't remember seeing canned mackerel in my local market -- if it's unavailable, do you have a good substitute? Tuna maybe?
You could use tuna although I think canned salmon maybe a better match for the capers and pickles... I have another recipe coming up using canned tuna though but rocking some south east asian flavours like chili and lemon grass 🙂
How clever! I would never have thought to have used tinned mackerel. This is a great way to jazz up that tin lurking in the back of my cupboard 🙂
Cheers Emma, definitely a way to de clutter a pantry in a really tasty way!
Perfect! Totally loving the shape you achieved. My ones never look so beautiful.
Hehehe Agata, my first few attempts were not nearly as well formed 😉
These look wonderful! Even though I live near the ocean I have occasionally cooked with canned tuna and salmon, so I think mackerel would be great too. Nothing like easy and tasty. 🙂 And good luck to you and your liver with the visit!
Cheers Anne Marie, it has been a week since our friends left and I think I am only just returning to 'normal'!
Are these like fish cutlets? This looks absolutely yummy and I love the click too!
I guess they are similar Priya, a real memory of school dinners for me although these are a little more refined than the schlop we got served when I was a nipper!
Mmmm these sound lovely! I've always got tinned fish on hand, just in case. A great midweek lunch idea, this!
Thanks Elizabeth, I used to scoff at the idea of tinned fish until I moved to a place where the sea is a long old way away... Now I embrace it for what it is 🙂
I love fish cakes and these look great. I do hope you have a great time with your friends, it sounds like fun
Thanks Dahn 🙂