Old Bay

What’s with Old Bay? You know, the seasoning from McCormick for “seafood, salads, and meats.”

In our house, it’s used for only one recipe – salmon patties (or croquettes as my mom called them). Therefore, perhaps I use it maybe 10 times a year, if that much.

About two months ago, I noticed that my Old Bay had no smell. That’s not surprising since the expiration date was November 2023. It was time to buy a new one and dump the old.

The search at two supermarkets yielded no Old Bay. That was very weird since it’s so popular in Baltimore. Finally, I found it at the Giant on Old Court Road. However, instead of my 2.62 oz. plastic bottle of the seasoning, Giant carried only a 16-ounce tin costing almost $10. It would take me 20 years to use up 16 ounces of Old Bay, and there was no way I was going to spend $10 on a spice that would expire in four to five years.

Mom never used Old Bay in her croquettes. It was my mother-in-law who used it, and her patties were delicious. The spice gave them a little bit of a punch. So now what?

I remembered advice from my friend Pam. She always says, “If you don’t have the ingredient you need, find something else that will work!” Among my spices was Chef Prudhomme’s Magic Salmon Seasoning, which another friend, Betty, told me about years ago. Why not try that?

And it worked great! Here’s Mom Creeger’s salmon patty recipe. Since I’m too lazy to measure ingredients, some of the listed ones are an estimate.

Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz. can of salmon, drained, deboned and other yucky stuff removed. (I’m not sure if canned salmon comes in 16-ounce cans anymore or has been reduced to 14 ounces. The can is outside in the trash so it can’t be checked.)
• 1 egg
• One-half cup (more or less) of breadcrumbs, corn flakes, etc. Whatever you like
• 1 Tbsp of mayonnaise – I toss in a spoonful
• 1 Tbsp of mustard – a nice squirt works fine
• 1 tsp of Chef Prudhomme’s Magic Salmon Seasoning. (Again, whose measuring? Not me.)
• Oil for pan frying

Directions:

• Place canned salmon is a medium bowl and take out all the yucky stuff. Then, using a fork, smash it up.
• Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well
• If the mixture seems dry, add a bit more mayo or another egg to moisten. If it comes out too moist, you can always add more bread crumbs.
• Place oil of choice in a large frying pan (12″ or so).
• Make patties, approximately six, and pan fry them on each side for about 10 minutes on a medium flame.
• Serve with salad, mashed potatoes and another vegetable and you’ve got a quick meal.

Leftover patties are good cold from the fridge.

And please don’t use the Old Bay on crabs, G-d forbid.

Please leave your comments below.

Read more by Eileen Creeger.