Slow Cooker Salmon Meatloaf

Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I had decided to include more fish in our diet. I was glad because I love fish and decided that I wanted to have good slow cooking fish recipes. While glancing through Judith Finlayson's The Healthy Slow Cooker, I found a recipe for salmon meatloaf. I thought the concept was interesting and since I had everything on hand, I gave it a try.

The Recipe

1 tbs oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 branches of celery, finely chopped

8oz of mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2 tsp tarragon (I didn't have any, so I substituted for thyme)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

2 213g (7 1/2 oz) cans of salmon 

1/2 c fresh parsley (i didn't have that either)

3/4 c breadcrumbs 

warm tomato sauce, for serving (optional)

1.In a skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms. Cook and stir once every so often for about 5 minutes, or until the celery is tender. Add tarragon and pepper, cook for a minute while stirring. Remove from heat

2.In a large bowl, beat the eggs and lemon juice. Add the salmon (she suggest leaving the bones and skin in, I removed both; there is nothing I hate more than picking out skeleton pieces in my plate). Break the salmon in pieces with a fork. Add the mushroom mix from the last step, the parsley and the breadcrumbs. Mix well. If you see the mix is too wet, add in one tbs of breadcrumbs at a time. (I added at least 3 tbs and then got tired of adding some in, and thought good enough).

3. Fold a long piece of aluminium (she suggests 2 feet long) in half, lengthwise. Place it in the bottom of your slow cooker and bring the edges of the paper up the sides of the recipient. Make a loaf with your salmon mixture and place it on the bottom in the middle of your slow cooker.

4. Cook it on low for 4-5 hours or on high 2-2.5 hours, or until the loaf is cooked. With the help of the aluminium foil, lift and slide your loaf to a serving plate and cut the loaf. Add the tomato sauce, if using.


The Verdict


This tasted nice, a bit like seafood stuffing. I had made a sauce with cream cheese, thyme and chicken broth to go with it, which was a winner. I would make it again but not if I was receiving fancy company for the sole reason that it didn't hold so well and looked like cat food.  My boyfriend said it didn't look THAT much like cat food, but it's the first impression I had. Perhaps if I had continued adding breadcrumbs, I would not have had this issue.

I liked that it didn't take much time to cook, so if ever I ran out of time in the morning to make supper, I could always count on this . But its short time could also be a problem e.g. if you have to prepare your meal before leaving for work.

I also liked that it uses up canned salmon. I always have some, but I can't say that I have many recipes that uses it in comparison to fresh salmon.  So all in all, I think it's an interesting and useful recipe,  but I won't be feeding it to the Queen of England.