Several years ago, my brothers and I had some luck with stripers at Oregon Inlet. We caught enough to fill the refrigerator at our beach cottage. We dined in style that evening with broiled stripers in a lemon dill sauce. The next night was crab night. We picked up a bushel of beautiful “jimmie” crabs, already steamed. But we had a problem. At the time, my brother Charlie was not eating meat – only fish – and crabs were not on his approved menu.
“I’ll just eat vegetables,” he said.
I had a better idea. I had one remaining striper filet, about a pound, and I poached it in a saucepan until the meat was just beginning to flake. Then I let it cool, broke it apart and put it in a bowl. Next, I mixed in a package of Old Bay Crab Cake Seasoning, a cup of Duke’s mayonnaise and let it rest briefly. While we were spreading newspapers on the table and getting ready for our crab feast, I made four fish cakes and put them in a frying pan with hot butter, cooking them about 4 minutes on each side until brown. Charlie ate fish cakes and said they were better than any crab cakes he had ever eaten before his diet change. We all had a bite and agreed. So if you are fortunate enough to catch some stripers this fall – and want an interesting way to prepare them – fry up some striper cakes. They are excellent.
Striper Cakes
1 pound striper filets
1 package Old Bay Crab Cake Seasoning mix
1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
¼ cup butter
Poach the stripers in a shallow pan with water (a dash of Chardonnay works, too) for about 6 minutes. When the fish begins to flake, remove it and let cool. Break the fish up into small pieces and mix with the Old Bay Crab Cake Seasoning and add a cup of mayonnaise. Stir together gently, leaving the fish chunky, and then form patties. Fry the fish cakes in butter until golden brown. Serve with cocktail sauce and enjoy.