These crispy pan fried salmon bites are a delicious way to eat canned salmon. Packed with heart healthy omegas and paired with a refreshing dipping sauce.

If this post was written by Ulysses (because I just asked him what to say about these after staring blankly at the screen for the past half hour) it would go like this:

“they were delicious and I ate every single one. The end.”

And that’s why he doesn’t blog.

Ok, so truth is I’m in Florida on vacation (and currently half distracted by this weird Johnny Depp movie, Dark Shadows that’s on).

In the 2 days we’ve been here so far I’ve gone to the pool twice, eaten frozen yogurt twice, gone on a Macy’s shopping spree with my mother in law’s employee discount (Hi, shiny new Fossil watch I’ve been wanting forever), walked along the beach and any interesting things I had to say about these salmon bites from last week are far, far out of my mind.

So here’s what I remember…

It was lunchtime and another boring salad involving canned fish (I’ve be rotating between tuna and salmon a lot recently) sounded disgusting.

So, I mixed it up, panko-fied it, “fried” them and lunch suddenly became worth eating again in the form of crispy salmon bites.

I buy canned tuna, salmon and chicken all the time for fast lunches but then end up looking at them stacked in the pantry with disgust because really, who looks forward to their lunch coming from a can?

I think a lot of people balk at the idea of canned salmon and think it’s somehow inferior to the filets you see behind the fish counter.

The reality though is it’s not! I learned all about this during my trip to Cordova, Alaska for Copper River Salmon.

Wild pink salmon is what’s typically used for canned salmon.

It’s the most prevalent wild salmon (and the laziest I learned because they spawn right at the mouth of the river where it meets the ocean versus swimming upstream like most salmon).

This makes them the easiest to catch and why they’re used for canning.

I tend to use canned salmon as something I just dump into salads or wraps rather than making an actual recipe with it but after coming up with these salmon bites, I think I’ve changed my tune on that.

Canned salmon lends itself really well to a this crab cake-esque application.

In fact, sardines would work well too if you’re into them. Or, you can try this simple sardine salad recipe.

All you need is a little binder, some ingredients for flavor (onion, peppers and herbs) and you’ve got one crispy, tasty bite that’s a lot more fun to eat than the former option.

You can also try this dijon dill salmon salad recipe that uses canned salmon as well for another idea or this salmon spinach risotto.

And if you want some ideas for an actual filet of salmon, these blackened salmon tacos and this tart cherry glazed salmon are two favorites!

Or, wrap salmon in bacon, pan-sear it in a skillet and then bake it off in the oven. That’s the recipe I use when I’m going for an impressive yet incredibly simple weeknight dinner meal.

Gimme all the wild salmon!