Farm raised Tilapia is fast becoming one of the most popular denizens in various seafood market counters in the United States. People enjoy the mild flavor of the fish and the fact that it is a sustainable resource, taking pressure off of many threatened, wild caught species. Tilapia is also relatively inexpensive. It was $4.99 a pound at Kroger’s last week, which drew my attention. This would allow me the opportunity to experiment, so I bought two large filets, which weighed almost exactly one pound. I would be attempting a Crab Cake recipe using Tilapia – or I suppose I should call them Tilapia Cakes.
I had previously made “crab cakes” from stripers, and they were very good, but I wanted to find out if the more readily available and less expensive Tilapia would serve the same purpose.
They did.
I began my concoction by poaching the filets. I put about a half-inch of water in a saucepan and added a splash of wine, a splash of malt vinegar, a sprinkle of Chef Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic and a dash of garlic salt in the liquid. I brought the sauce to a gentle boil and poached the fish ten minutes, turning once midway through.
I removed the fish from the pan and allowed them to cool. Next, I broke the fish into pieces about the size and shape of backfin crabmeat and blended that with a packet of Old Bay Crab Cake Mix. The mix calls for a half cup of mayo, the mix and that’s it. If you didn’t have the mix, you could make your own with Old Bay, some Panko Crumbs and the mayo, but it’s easier to simply open a packet of Old Bay mix. It’s a tried and true winner.
After I mixed the fish and Old Bay, I put the bowl in the fridge for about an hour to allow the mixture to blend and firm up,
In a frying pan, I added 2 tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil, then shaped the cakes into serving sizes, frying to a golden brown – about ten minutes total.
They were yummy!
I didn’t tell my Nancy what I did and asked her the next day what we had for dinner the night before. She said, “Crab cakes and they were good.”
The experiment was successful. She didn’t know the difference.
Try some Tilapia Cakes the next time you have a yen for seafood or crab cakes. I think you’ll like it.
Tilapia Cakes
1 pound Tilapia filets
1 teaspoon of Blackened Redfish Magic (or similar creole seasoning)
1 tablespoon of malt (or regular) vinegar
2 tablespoons dry white wine
Dash of garlic salt
½ cup mayo
1 pack Old Bay Crab Cake mix