Traditional Irish-style fish cakes with 30-second tartar sauce are a year-round dinnertime favorite at our house!
These are traditional, old fashioned fish cakes and they’re a great example of authentic Irish country cooking. Packed with tender flakes of just barely poached cod, lots of fork-mashed russet potatoes and a smattering of lemon, ketchup and parsley, they’re fried in a cast iron skillet until crispy golden on the outside, and downright feathery inside.
These fish cakes are homey and comforting for the winter months, but can be a light summer meal on top of a pile of fresh greens, — baby arugula is my ‘green’ of choice these days — along with plenty of lemon and tartar sauce. I’m giving you a twofer today, because the thick rich homemade 30 second tartar sauce could have been a post in itself. Trust me, you’re going to love me for it!
homemade tartar sauce ups the ante on these classic fish cakes
This homemade tartar sauce is simple, and wonderful, and I bet most of you assumed I was going to mix a few ingredients into a ready made mayo and call it homemade. But no, this is from scratch, made just the way my 30-second mayonnaise is made, with a room temperature egg and vegetable oil as its base. I add some dill pickles, capers, lemon, mustard, and some salt and pepper to the jar. It blends up instantaneously with my stick blender into a creamy tartar sauce.
TIP: Use a pasteurized egg for safety in the tartar sauce. You can usually find them next to the regular eggs in the grocery store.
it’s all about the fish-to-potato-ratio
While I usually make my fish cakes with a higher ratio of fish to other ingredients, in this case the potatoes and the cod face each other as equals. This makes for a cozy, satisfying dish which I don’t always associate with fish. The tarter sauce also helps this simple dish feel rich and hearty, and helps wake up the rest of the flavors.
These will keep well in the fridge and make great leftovers, you can reheat them in the skillet, (over low heat) or in the microwave. In fact these can be made from leftovers if you’ve got extra fish and potatoes around. Salmon would work well with this recipe, too.
tips and tricks for making fish cakes
I make fish cakes and crab cakes all the time, but I know they can be a little intimidating if you’ve never made something like this before. Here are some of my best tips for perfect fish cakes.
- Nearly all homemade seafood cakes like this are fairly delicate and need to be handled with care while cooking. The potato, egg, and cracker crumbs in this recipe all contribute to making a fairly sturdy mixture that should hold up well to frying, but you still need to use a delicate hand.
- A thin and flexible spatula will be your friend when flipping delicate fish cakes.
- Make sure your mixture isn’t too chunky — smaller pieces of fish and well-mashed potatoes will help hold everything together.
- Make sure to use a generous amount of oil in your pan to prevent the cakes from sticking, and give them enough time for form a golden brown crust on the bottom before attempting to flip them.
“As soon as I saw your post I ran right out for the ingredients! We had them for dinner this evening and I must say my polish, kielbasa loving husband was dancing an Irish jig! Thanks for a great recipe, Sue! ~Candace
Irish Fish Cakes with 30 Second Tartar Sauce
Video
Ingredients
fish cakes
- 1 lb russet potatoes
- 1 lb cod fillet
- 1 Tbsp spicy ketchup or chili sauce
- a handful of minced fresh parsley
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 tsp each salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 32 Ritz crackers, finely crushed (use a small food processor or a rolling pin)
- several Tbsp vegetable oil for frying
garnish
- sliced green onion
- chopped parsley
tartar sauce
- 1 pasteurized egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil, at room temperature
- 1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 Tsp capers
- 1/2 cup dill pickles, chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
to make the fish cakes
- Peel and chop the potatoes into large chunks. Put them in a saucepan, cover with cold water, add 2 teaspoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are very soft.
- Put the cod in a shallow saute pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and then cover, turn off the heat, and let the fish poach for about 10-15 minutes. Drain.
- Drain the potatoes and put them into a large mixing bowl. Use the back of a fork to mash them, leaving a little bit of texture.
- Add the ketchup, parsley, lemon juice, beaten eggs, and salt and pepper. Stir briefly to combine, and then add the fish, breaking it apart with your fingers as you add it. (Check for tiny bones as you do this.) Fold the fish into the mixture until everything is evenly incorporated. It will be fairly wet.
- I use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop out the mixture and form into patties. Flour your hands if necessary.
- Roll each patty in the Ritz cracker crumbs, to coat all surfaces and set on a platter. You can cover and refrigerate the cakes at this point for later cooking if you like.
- Coat the bottom of a skillet (I like cast iron) with vegetable oil and heat on medium heat until hot. Fry the cakes for about 5 minutes on each side until golden, crispy, and hot throughout. Note: the cakes will be very delicate, move and flip them with extra care.
- Serve immediately on top of a bed of greens. I like to mix the greens with a few chopped ripe tomatoes and some thinly sliced red onion. You can add a little oil and vinegar to the salad if you like before adding the cakes.
- Serve lots of fresh tartar sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
to make the tartar sauce
- Put all the ingredients into a jar that fits the head of your immersion blender. I find that a 16 oz wide mouth mason jar is the perfect size.
- Set the head of the blender down at the bottom of the jar, and turn it on. Blend for a few seconds and as the sauce starts to thicken, gently raise the blender up to blend all of the contents. This will only take a few seconds. you can pulse the blender a few times to continue to thicken the tartar sauce.
- Remove the blender, give the sauce a stir, and taste to adjust the seasoning. Screw the cap on the jar and keep refrigerated until needed. Use within a week to 10 days.
Notes
- 30-SECOND MAYONNAISE
- 30-SECOND GRAPEFRUIT MAYONNAISE
- 30-SECOND AUTHENTIC CAESAR SALAD DRESSING
- 30-SECOND DILLED MAYO
This sounds really delicious and something new to try. Thank you for sharing this.
Simon
These fish cakes were amazing. I added seafood cocktail sauce instead of ketchup and about two chopped scallions into the mix. Served with spicy aoli & sweet Thai chili sauce on the side with a generous sprinkling of capers.
I could see bite sized ones for appetizers, too.
I’ll be making these a lot this summer – thanks so much for the recipe, Sue.
Yay – I’m so glad you liked them – and your special touches sound great!
I know that poached salmon with new potatoes and peas is a traditional 4th of July dinner, but I think that this year, I’ll make these fish cakes with a warm potato and peas side dish for our 4th supper! They look so good! Great recipe, Sue!
I’ve never made fish cakes with cod! These sound truly delicious and something I need to try ASAP as I think my husband and I will both love them. I make a very similar tartar sauce that we love too.
Way better than the fish sticks we ate as kids. I always felt that the fish sticks were just an excuse to eat tartar sauce. You lovely recipe(s) give me just the excuse I need to fall back in love with tartar.. GREG
If you love tartar sauce Greg, you’re going to love the homemade version!
As soon as I return home, I will make these. They look delicious and I always like to try out a new variation on fish cakes.
They are my summer comfort food, hope you enjoy them Gerlinde!
Oh wow, I love these fish cakes. I love the fish and potato combination. And that tartar sauce sounds wonderful. I would love this.
These sound great Sue and I treasure The Country Cooking of Ireland. I like your options of how to change it up with salsa. A lovely summer meal.
Hi Sue, as usual you produced another wonderful dish, we spend our summers in Oregon on the coast and I am thinking we could probably switch out salmon, halibut or what we can get fresh at the moment. Beautiful presentation!
As soon as I saw your post I ran right out for the ingredients! We had them for dinner this evening and I must say my polish, kielbasa loving husband was dancing an Irish jig! Thanks for a great recipe, Sue!
Cheers!
I love nothing more than when someone runs right out and makes a dish in a post – bravo Candace! What did you think of the amount of potatoes, would you adjust that?
I thought the potato were fine, but then I’m Irish ;>) Perhaps add a bit more cod and then you have more cakes!