Chef John's Salmon Loaf

Canned salmon is a great, inexpensive source of proteins and omegas, and you may have stocked up on a few cans but not known what to do with them. This tasty shelter-in-place salmon loaf is so good for you While salmon right out of the can may not be the most appealing thing to look at, this salmon loaf is so delicious that we can surely forgive some of its visual shortcomings. Remember, looks are less important than personality (and taste) and this easy salmon loaf is proof of that. Serve with your favorite tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, or hot, white cream sauce.

Chef John's Salmon Loaf Ingredients

• cup salted butter

• ? cup diced onion

• 2 (7 ounce) cans red salmon, drained

• cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

• teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

• ? teaspoon cayenne pepper

• teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar

• 3 large eggs

How to Make Chef John's Salmon Loaf

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Generously butter a loaf pan.

2. Melt butter over medium heat in a saute pan until bubbling. Toss in onion, give the pan a quick shake, and stir with a wooden spoon; cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

3. Place salmon in a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Add cracker crumbs, salt, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, rice vinegar, butter, and onions; mix and mash with a spatula or spoon until smooth.

4. Separate eggs, adding whites to a clean glass, metal, or ceramic bowl and adding yolks to salmon mixture. Mix egg yolks and salmon until well combined.

5. Whisk whites to medium stiff peaks. Gently fold into salmon mixture in 2 additions.

6. Transfer salmon mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula to even it out and shake and tap the pan to remove any air bubbles.

7. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then carefully turn loaf out onto a cutting board. Slice and serve.

Chef John's Salmon Loaf Nutritions

• Calories: 361.5 calories

• Carbohydrate: 7.9 g

• Cholesterol: 213.1 mg

• Fat: 23.4 g

• Fiber: 0.5 g

• Protein: 28.7 g

• SaturatedFat: 10.1 g

• ServingSize:

• Sodium: 879.9 mg

• Sugar: 1 g

• TransFat:

• UnsaturatedFat:

Chef John's Salmon Loaf Reviews

• We used green onions rather than regular onion, because we had fresh green onions that needed to be used AND we doubled the recipe. We will definitely make this again, probably adding some spicy corn relish and more cayenne

• I left out the rice vinegar (didnt have any, and forgot to add the white wine vinegar I did have). I also reconstitued the Worcestershire sauce from a powder a local spice merchant carries, using a roughly 1.5:1 ratio of water to powder. And instead of saltine crumbs, I used crumbs from pieces of Cheez-It crackers.I dont understand what the problem with looks is; the loaf looked fine and tasted great. Another excellent recipe from Chef John, who is a real fount of great recipes here on AllRecipes.

• Very good

• We love Chef Johns Salmon cakes, so I figured I would give this recipe a try for a change of pace (especially since we have been eating quite a bit of canned salmon recently ). Once again, Chef John did not disappoint This salmon loaf was really delicious. I made the recipe just as written, using lemon juice in place of the rice vinegar (since that type of vinegar is not a staple in my pantry). The loaf turned out perfectly and had a very nice texture. I served it with a dill & caper white sauce, which complimented the salmon flavor quite well. Chef Johns video is also well worth watching - the tips are very helpful, and you cant help but chuckle at his humor. Thanks Chef John

• This is good enough to make even when youre not sheltering in place. The only other time I ever opened a can of salmon, I was so appalled by the bones and skin, I spent a long time picking them out. This time, thanks to Chef John, I mashed them right in and hes right--you cannot tell theyre in there. The only change I made was to limit the butter to 2 tablespoons instead of 4. Per Chef Johns suggestion, I served it with a white sauce. I goosed the flavor of the sauce by heating the milk with a slice of onion and a bay leaf, then strained it into the roux. Added salt, pepper, cayenne and a dash of nutmeg. Oh, and because I was interrupted, after it finished baking, the loaf sat in the oven for probably about 15 minutes with the heat turned off, which may have contributed to the lovely delicate crust it had.

• Easy and yummy, we loved every bite

• This recipe turned out great and was a nice change I followed it exactly. Next time I will spray the loaf pan with PAM because for some reason the butter made the loaf stick even though I waited the 5 minutes to turn it over on the plate.

• Besides Salmon, the recipe is excellent to adapt for Tuna Loaf with savory additions like capers, celery, and red bell pepper. And be sure to use Chef Johns technique of separating the eggs to whip the egg white and fold it into the mixture. It makes a really wonderful textural difference in the finished product

• I used tuna & didnt separate the eggs, just mixed them in. Turned out great though Im sure not as close to fluffy as the original

• This is a keeper. Lovely texture and great flavour. Made a half recipe with 2 eggs for my husband and myself. Highly recommend for a quick meat dish.

• I love this recipe. My Mom used to make salmon loaf back in he 70s. As always with Chef John Recipes, this is a huge improvement. I made a few substitutions (nothing big). My husband and I live with my parents to help care for my Mom who has Alzheimers. I made a couple substitutions to accommodate my Dad. (He suffers from old-man curmudgeon disorder and lifelong inflexible personality disorder.) Also, my 21 year-old son is sheltering with us, so I doubled the recipe. That worked out fine. My substitutions:I only had one small onion (and it was beginning to sprout) I used that and some freshly minced garlic. I added a little dried parsley "for color."My Dad refuses to eat canned food. Also, Because of the meat plant issues, my husband loaded up on ground meats this past weekend (and left it all in the refrigerator instead of freezing some). So, I substituted 2 pounds of ground pork for the canned salmon. (My son refuses to eat fish, so that worked out well.For a little "flavor boost," I replaced some of the crushed saltines with grated parmesan cheese (the kind in the green bottle).I didnt have vinegar or lemon juice, so I left those out.The menfolk pour catsup over everything, so I didnt bother with cocktail sauce.The salmon loaf was a HUGE hit. I will DEFINITELY make it again. Its. literally. fantastic

• We like salmon patties, so I was looking for a non-fried recipe and came across this one. Its honestly very similar to the salmon patties, just instead of frying, you put the mixture in a pan and bake. As I do with salmon patties, I sauted as many veggies as I could get away with and added them to the mixture--spinach, mushroom, garlic, onion, bell pepper, squash. I didnt bother to separate the yolks from the whites--just mixed it all together. Kids loved it and I did, too. However, I wasnt a fan of the left overs the next day. The kids still liked it reheated, though

• Made it exactly as written. served with homemade tartar sauce. We really enjoyed it.