Southern Food Nostalgia: Faulkner’s Salmon Croquettes
Growing up in a Southern town that wasn’t exactly near the ocean, we didn’t eat much fresh seafood. Salmon was one thing that frequently came out of a can, and it was made into salmon croquettes—crispy, fried patties of salmon mixed with saltine crackers. Turns out salmon croquettes were William Faulkner’s favorite food…
Writer and food historian John T. Edge, who lives in Faulkner’s hometown of Oxford, Miss., wrote this article about visiting Faulkner’s home and learning about his love of the croquette.
Read it and get the recipe: William Faulkner’s Salmon Croquettes
My mother grew up in a small town in Mississippi not too far from Oxford, and she cooked salmon croquettes a lot. I remember the thrill of finding one of the little chunks of bone in my croquettes (I know, a little gross- but they were soft and crumbly, and it was like a cool surprise). Other than shrimp, fried catfish, and a rare foray into something exotic like snapper, this was the only seafood my family ever ate at home.
To me, canned salmon is no different than canned tuna (which I eat often), and it’s relatively cheap. Maybe it’s something that was ingrained in me as a kid, but while I’m not a big fan of fresh salmon, I do love these croquettes. It could also be the crackers, onions, and the fact that they’re fried in butter.
Here are two more recipes to check out:
- Salmon Patties, from Simply Recipes
- Salmon Croquettes, from the Food Network
Does anyone else eat salmon croquettes?
Related: Reader Cupboard Challenge: Lentils, Salmon, Barley, Clam Juice, and Moonshine Jelly
(Image: Shayla Hunter and Getty, via Gourmet.com)