Selecting not-so-simple Salmon

Salmon really isn't simple.

Farmed salmon (the big thick fatty pale orange variety most of us buy) is NOT good for us, they are now saying. It's actually bad for us. Better to eat no salmon at all than to eat farmed salmon. Most restaurants, by the way, serve farmed salmon.

Wild-caught Alaskan salmon is outrageously expensive and now they are saying alot of it is fake (and dyed that bright reddish-orange color). Canned wild-caught salmon is probably most likely to contain real wild-caught salmon, but what to do with that bony, sticky mess in the can other than salmon patties and they're full of breadcrumbs (not good either).

Think there are no solutions to the salmon quandary? Have no fear, the fat lady is here...with some salmon solutions.

First of all, find a really good source for your wild-caught fresh or frozen salmon and spend what it costs to get the good stuff occasionally. Don't know your local fish markets or if you shop online for fish sent on dry ice, but I'll leave it to you to discern how to find real wild-caught salmon. Just know that most of it is fake, and do your homework.

If you can't do that - or in between the times you spring for the good stuff - canned salmon with the bones is actually not a bad choice if you have the right recipe for healthy salmon patties.

A few cautionary notes:

(1) Now, don't buy canned pink salmon. Buy canned wild-caught red Alaskan salmon that is caught in Alaska and processed in the USA. It should say that on the can.

(2) Remember, you want the bones. They're one of the healthiest things about canned salmon.

(3) The only downside of canned salmon is whatever chemicals are in the can linings (even BPA free can linings have yucky chemicals), but if you discard the liquid, hopefully you can minimize the contamination in the salmon meat.

The Healthiest Salmon Patties Ever.
12-15 oz. wild-caught salmon (drain liquid)
¼ cup cauliflower puree
1 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp ground sprouted sunflower seeds
2 tbsp soaked flax seeds (after soaking)
¼ cup finely diced onions
¼ cup finely diced bell pepper (any color)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 egg or 2 egg whites
Your favorite salmon patty seasonings
Chopped fresh or dried parsley (some like more, some like less, just sprinkle it in til you're happy)
Optional: Sliced almonds pressed on top to make it fancy

I know I need to eat cruciferous veggies regularly, so I use cauliflower pureee in all kinds of things - from gluten-free pizza crust to faux mashed potatoes. I make a big batch of it and freeze it in ice cube trays then put cubes in a big ziploc bag in the freezer. I take them out as I need them. 2 cubes will make 1/4 cup of cauliflower puree when it melts.

Sunflower seeds are the highest food source of Vitamin E which we're all deficient in, surprisingly. I buy sprouted sunflower seeds online (sprouting neutralizes anti-nutrients in seeds, nuts and legumes) and grind them in a low-heat coffee grinder I reserve for grinding seeds and nuts. I keep coconut flour in a container in the fridge and try to use it sparingly but it's a handy keto flour in small amounts. (I don't like to use too much coconut).

I soak some flax seeds every couple of days and keep them in a jar in the fridge and try to sneak them in wherever I can. You can't really sprout flax seeds, but soaking them helps neutralize the anti-nutrients.

If you don't like to use eggs, increase the soaked flax seed to 4 tbsp and it can serve as an egg replacement and binder.

Get the whole mess of it mixed together - including those bones. Depending on what size salmon cans you bought and whether you put 12 or 15 ounces of salmon in there, you may need more coconut flour to hold it together. Add coconut flour until it's got the consistency you like (but don't add too much).

The issue of seasonings...why am I not more specific? Because everybody thinks they (or their mom or granda) knew best how to season salmon patties. Maybe they use Old Bay seasoning or lemon pepper or special herbs or just plain salt and pepper. Just use whatever you would normally use.

I like to pan fry my salmon patties in a coating of avocado oil on a black cast iron skillet then let them cool on a bed of natural (not dyed) paper towels. As I fry a batch, I transfer them onto a platter in the oven, keeping them warm.

I freeze leftovers in a big Ziploc bag and pull them out when I want one (just heat it up on a cast iron pan in the oven or stovetop). Having them available like that makes you more likely to get your serving of salmon (and essential Omega-3s) into your routine.

By the way, this recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, keto, paleo and primal. It can be organic too if you use only organic ingredients.

It's not nut-free or seed-free, though. If you need to get the nuts and seeds out of it, replace the flax, coconut flour and sunflower seed with an equivalent measurement of ground psyllium husk and an extra egg. Get the completely natural unflavored psyllium husk at your local health food store (don't get the flavored kind made by Metamucil). It won't be quite as good, or nutritious, but it will be healthier than most things people put in salmon patties. 

Have you heard of the new keto/paleo thing of replacing breadcrumbs with ground fried pork skins? I bet it's good, but I don't think that can qualify as healthy in any reasonable universe. :)

NOTE: You can also used smoked salmon which comes in glass jars, but there is plastic lining that probably contains BPA on the inside of the lid which probably still leaches chemicals into the salmon, but not as much. Downside: no bones to mix in the salmon patty so much less calcium.