easy salmon croquettes

When I was talking to my mom yesterday, I mentioned that I was looking for a recipe that uses canned salmon.  Awhile back, we had bought canned salmon at Costco (a stack of something like 6 or 8 cans .. Costco purchases are such a commitment) because someone thought he would take it in his lunch (in the form of a "salad" of canned salmon, black beans, and salsa .. it looked like dog puke).  That mixture must not have been very good -- he only took it once.  Anyways, we're left with this canned salmon and going on vacation soon so we're trying to eat up what's here at home.  My mom remembered that Kay-Kay, my grandmother, always used canned salmon in "salmon croquettes."  I scribbled down the recipe:    

The date is when my mom got the recipe from Kay-Kay.  The ingredient list is simple:

1 can of salmon (remove skin & bones) - fortunately, my Costco salmon is skinless & boneless
2 eggs
1/2-1 sleeve of Ritz crackers - I used a mixture of saltines, Ritz, and Italian bread crumbs and it was more like 1 sleeve's worth
2 scoops of Crisco or oil - I used 2 tablespoons or a little more of olive oil

The directions are really simple too:
1. beat the eggs in a large bowl
2. drain the canned salmon and add it to the eggs
3. crush the crackers in a ziploc bag (I crushed them right in their sleeves and didn't have to use a baggie on this)
4. add the crushed crackers to the salmon and eggs
5. mix it all together into a dough.  you can add more crackers/bread crumbs if it seems too wet.  here's what my dough looked like:

6. heat oil or Crisco in a skillet over medium heat.
7. to form your croquettes or patties, I recommend using a 1/4-cup measuring cup to scoop the dough out of your bowl (this way, you don't have to touch it).

8. tap the 1/4-cup gently on the edge of the skillet. 

9. the dough should come out easily and look like the croquette on the right:

10.  use the back of a spatula to flatten the croquette out.  I like the nice, round shape, and this is better for cooking it evenly.

I fit four croquettes in my skillet, but had additional dough and made one more once these were out:

11.  cook the croquettes over medium heat and turn every few minutes.  they should get browned in about 10 minutes:

here is a shot of the heat I had my stove on for cooking.  I don't recommend turning it up higher than this because the hot oil will splatter.

12.  once you are satisfied with the browning of your croquettes, use the spatula to remove them from the skillet and place them on a paper towel to remove excess oil:

Enjoy!

Note: If you use salted crackers, your dough shouldn't need any additional salt, but definitely season to your tastes.  I didn't add any spices but this might have been even better with the addition of lemon pepper seasoning.  Next time, I might also make this remoulade sauce to go with it.