How to cook Fish Cakes in air fryer
Oven cooking instructions for fish cakes would be too aggressive in an air fryer so its important both time and temperature are reduced.
How to cook Fish Cakes made in any kind of fish like Cod or Salmon will involve setting the temperature of your air fryer to 355°F / 180°C for a standard size fish cake, while taking no longer than 15 minutes to cook, flipping halfway. Air fry fish cakes on parchment paper to handle these delicate cakes hands-free.
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What I have here is a quick and easy way to air fry two fish cakes - I am using salmon and potato fish cakes - of which we must handle with care because as you may know, any kind of frozen or fresh fish cake will fall apart with ease.
I know that because I recently air fried a handful of similar fish fingers which of course fell apart, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it at the time.
Well, now I do as fish cakes must be placed uncooked on a sheet of parchment paper inside the air fryer basket, and kept on the paper for the time they take to cook.
Halfway through air frying these fish cakes you will have to turn them over with care. And because they remain on the parchment paper, it should be easy enough as both fish cakes are taken out of the basket - and then flipped over with a silicone spatula - and then returned to the air fryer basket while remaining on the parchment paper.
All this is done in an effort to help you manage the fish cakes in a way that will almost certainly cause them to break apart with any other technique.
Don't be fouled with air fried frozen fish cakes either, as they will gradually weaken as they begin to defrost the longer they're air fried.
For the record, my air fry cooking instructions were achieved using a Tesco Finest 2 Salmon, Spinach & Lemon Fishcakes, weighing 290g for the pair.
Oven cooking asked for a temperature of 200°C/400°F of which I ignored this on occasion because I felt it was too high for fish cakes; thus I reduced the temperature by 20°C/70°F - while reducing the full cooking time by 10 minutes.
Prepare 2 Fish Cakes
With two fresh fish cakes to air fryer, do handle with care as they will be delicate, and will likely break apart if you aren't careful.
- STEP 1: Take out of fridge; remove packaging - While preheating the air fryer for 5 minutes, be sure to remove and dispose of the packaging
- STEP 2: Line air fryer basket in parchment paper - Line the air fryer basket in parchment paper to sit what are prone to crumbling fish cake breadcrumbs
- STEP 3: Sit Fish Cakes on lining - Position fish cakes on parchment paper in a way access paper won't flip up and catch fire on the heating element
- STEP 4: Close air fryer basket - Close the basket so you can dial in the temperature and time
NOTE: Once the fish cakes are positioned on the parchment paper, try to keep the fish cakes in place for the time it takes to air fry, as a way to prevent you breaking these delicate fish cakes.
Air fry 2 Fish Cakes
Cooking a couple of fish cakes in an air fryer is pretty straightforward with nothing else to do other than flip them over halfway through.
- STEP 1: Set temp to 355°F / 180°C; time: 15 Mins. - Not the 400°F suggested for oven cooking, as I fear it would be too intense for air frying delicate fish cakes
- STEP 2: Pull Fish Cakes out halfway - Simply lift out both fish cakes while remaining on the parchment paper and place beside the air fryer basket
- STEP 3: Flip Fish Cakes over on counter - With both fish cakes out of the basket, flip them over with a spatula on outside of the too confined air fryer basket
- STEP 4: Return Fish Cakes; continue to cook - Lift the fish cakes up on parchment paper again, while carefully returning them to the air fryer basket for the an additional 7-8 minutes of air frying time
NOTE: Second half of air frying your fish cakes would allow you to introduce frozen vegetables which could be cooked in a ramekin or placed directly on the basket.
How long to air fry your chilled Fish Cakes
Admittedly it would be hard to demonstrate how to cook fish cakes in an air fryer for every fish cake available, but it isn't needed as the timing and temperature is similar.
Do air fry your particular fish cakes by the oven temperature set on your packaging, while reducing it by 20°C/70°F if indeed the original temperature for oven cooking is suggested too high for air fryer - which would be in the region of 200°C/400°F.
When it comes to how long to cook chilled fish cakes in an air fryer especially, I am sure it wouldn't be more than 15 minutes.
Cooking fish cakes is a delicate procedure as the breadcrumbs would quickly burn if allowed to cook for to long.
Air fry any fresh fish cakes - both bought in store or made at home - at your disposal, and once the halfway mark has lapsed, be sure to frequently check on the fish cakes inside the air fryer to be sure the breadcrumbs crisp up, but don't burn in the process.
Make air fried fish cake dinner for two
While my 5.8 litre air fryer basket is big enough for one, there is an option for me - and hopefully you - to air fry an additional food item or two.
Why you would do that is to cook what could be chips or vegetables to be served along with your fish cakes.
I've chosen to have fish cakes with mash potatoes and mixed vegetables, of which I have filled two ramekins with frozen mixed vegetables to air fry for 6-7 minutes along with the final minutes of the fish cakes - which is all it takes to heat a small portion of peas and sweet corn.
What you could so is make a meal for two which will involve air frying the fish cakes and peas together, while the mash can be done in the air fryer too - with an option to make mash potatoes the traditional way.
In addition, a cheese or creamy parsley sauce can be heated up in a second saucepan to serve over your fish cakes.
Summary
It couldn't be easier to air fry up to four standard size fish cakes, of which I've chosen to air fry just two on this occasion.
Reason for that is I planned to cook two vegetable-filled ramekins which can be air fried beside the fish cakes.
How you would cook your particular fish cakes would involve setting the temperature to the oven cooking directions - with an option to reduce the time by 5 minutes - which is a must as an air fryer will cook fish cakes faster than the oven.
Set the temperature to what is suggested on the instructions of your fish cake packaging, but do reduce the temperature by 20°C/70°F if its set near a high of 200°C/400°F.
Fish cake breadcrumbs will quickly burn on a high heat and while we want a crusty crust, we don't want the breadcrumbs to burn in the process.
Always sit your fish cakes on parchment paper - not foil as the breadcrumbs will stick - so you can pull the fish cakes out while remaining on the paper. To pull the fish cakes with a spatula or by other methods, will only cause the delicate fish cakes to break.
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