Thursday, October 02, 2008

Tasty Tuna Croquettes

Here in the Pond, we don't eat a lot of seafood. I wasn't raised eating it, and Ben doesn't like a lot of it. He prefers fresh fish. Since we live 4 hours from the coast, we don't have a lot of fresh fish.


In Alaska, when I wasn't serenading the otters or cooing at the moose, I went crazy over fish. Particularly halibut. I'd never had halibut before, so I tried it for the hal-i-but. Get it? Stop groaning. It was funny. But really, I loved halibut. So flaky, tender...we eat salmon occasionally here, but I couldn't eat it every day. Halibut was fabulous. Fried, grilled, baked...I loved halibut.




Well, we don't have halibut in the Pond. But we do have tuna. Therefore, we decided to make Alton Brown's tuna croquettes.


Actually, I didn't make them. Ben did. But it made them taste even better.

The first thing we (he) did was to mix all the ingredients up into little balls. (Directions below.) There's all sorts of tasty stuff in these babies: tuna, onions, Dijon mustard, panko bread crumbs...


The next thing he did was to roll the little balls in more panko bread crumbs and make little cakes.


Aren't they cute? Yes, of course I did something. I took pictures. And twirled. And played with the Babies.

I was busy.


Next, he dropped them in a frying pan with olive oil to fry them. Excuse me, saute them. Whatever. It's Texas. If it's in a pan and there's oil, it's frying. There ain't no sauteing.


Switch sides.



Don't they look tasty? Next, he had to fry up the last three.



Not only are tuna croquettes cute,but they're perfect for a light supper. While I usually prefer meatier dishes, this was a nice change of pace. Throw it with some couscous and peas, and you've got a tasty meal.



Besides, I can't eat ribs all the time. And if I can't have halibut, then I'm having some tuna croquettes!



Tuna Croquettes by Alton Brown


Ingredients:
  • 1 (7-ounce) pouch albacore tuna, drained well and shredded by hand
  • 2 green onions, chopped fine
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
  • olive oil, for sauteing

Directions

Place the tuna, onions, mustard, eggs, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs into a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 8 rounds and set aside on a parchment lined half sheet pan. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Place the remaining bread crumbs into a pie plate. One at a time, coat each round in the panko on all sides.

Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the croquettes and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack set over a half sheet pan lined with paper towels. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.


Tomorrow, the second part to the Land of the Flowered Bed! Also, the winner of my "wonderful life" post from Sunday! If you haven't read it, leave a comment and you'll be in the running for a wonderful surprise!

32 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

pretty and tasty that makes them pretty tasty

Prudy said...

They look delicious. I love your cleverness-wether it be about tuna croquettes or just a blog comment. You always have such clever things to say!

Live.Love.Eat said...

Wow, these look yummy. I never made anything similar to this. Just salmon cakes.

Marjie said...

Isn't everything better if someone else cooks it? Never happens here. My crowd is culinarily challenged.

You look cold standing there with the moose. My daughter coos over buffalo like that; the natives in Wyoming think she's nuts.

Jane said...

The picture of you with the moose is lovely. Em and I love tuna but Tony doesn't so we have fish when he has pork. Jane x

Jane said...

oh i forgot to say, i love bears and the two on my profile pic are Timber and Thornberry. Jane x

Unknown said...

I might have to try that. I love seafood and that looks really good!

Pam said...

Looks great - I am sure my husband would love these little croquettes.

Rosie said...

Thank you for the visit and your lovely comment on my blog :)

Your tuna croquettes look very delicious.

Rosie x

Maria said...

We ate some great seafood in Alaska too! I miss it! We will have to try these to fill the void.
Risotto is easy! You can do it! Just get your arm ready for a lot of stirring:)

Anonymous said...

Yum! I know what you mean about sauteing something. Heck it's frying!

Mary Ann said...

These look wonderful and I know my family would go crazy for them, luckily, my husband and kids love fish of any kind. Great recipe and dialogue!

tavolini said...

Now that looks really good!

I'm a huge fan of Alton Brown--he and Jaime Oliver hold a special place in the food celebrity part of my heart ;)

Emily said...

Mmm croquettes.
I could actually go for some Texas ribs right now, too.

sassy stephanie said...

Wow! That moose is so cool!!

Yum. I only recently became a fish fan.

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Moose!!!!!!haha. Those croquettes look awesome!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

That looks scrumptious. You are so clever. I think my kids would love those!

Dee said...

Oh yeah, my heart needs some of these, she says having just returned from the market with pork ribs AND lamb shoulders. Sigh.

Wanna hear something embarassing? I've no idea who Alton Brown is. I kept hearing the name on some other blogs, and I thought they were talking about some fancy kitchen appliance.

Anonymous said...

Yes, halibut is the best but this looks a great dish! I love that Ben made them too!

Marie Rayner said...

I've never heard of Alton Brown. (I know, I must be living under a rock) I do like the sound of these tuna cakes though, and what a sweetie that Ben likes to cook for you! Never happens here. Todd does not cook, but he does iron and wash the dishes so I'm not complaining!

The W.O.W. factor! said...

LOL! Just for the "hal-i-but"..now I know you are Country! Cowboy says that all the time! BTW..he hates fish! Says if it swims and doesn't have legs, it's not edible! But I love fish! This recipe sounds delicious!
Think I could convince Cowboy it's made from beef???

grace said...

mooses/meese/moosen, peas, and croquettes--this is a loaded post. nice work. :)

Debbie said...

The tuna looks delicious. Never made tuna that way before and I will have to try now.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Your resourcefulness is awesome. Your croquettes looking yummy. I'm glad you got your hubby to help. Cooking together just makes the meak taste better.

alexandra's kitchen said...

this sounds fabulous. and nice to know that you can make the croquettes with canned or pouched tuna. my husband's name is Ben, too, and he loves fresh fish and canned tuna. the similarities keep emerging ...

Bunny said...

I've never had these before Duckie they look very good!!

Snooky doodle said...

these look tasty and yummy :-)

Thistlemoon said...

Yum - I love little croquettes! My mom used to make them with canned salmon when I was a little girl!

Esi said...

I've never had tuna croquettes before! Sounds great

Anonymous said...

Mom used to make these with salmon and crackers instead of bread crumbs. And like a good Oklahoma farm girl- she fried it. I loved them and I think I fixed them for you when you were little. You wouldn't eat them. Lol.

Cakelaw said...

These look really yummy - 'specially with all those peas. And the photo (of you?) with the moose and the green grass and the mountains - how gorgeous is that! Aussies travel a long way to see stuff like that.

Lore said...

Tastyyyyyyyyyy indeed! Making pictures and eating these croquettes must be exhausting ;)
Now seriously, you both did a great job and every cook needs a cheering crowd :D