2 Ways to Cook Fish in the Slow Cooker

So much of the country has been experiencing record high temperatures the past few days. Here in Atlanta, Georgia is no exception. I just can’t bear to turn my oven on in this heat. Our kitchen is usually the warmest room in the house, even when I’m not cooking. When I made my menu plan this past week, I didn’t take the heat into account. So I adapted 2 of this past week’s recipes for the slow cooker, and I was surprised at how good both turned out, especially since both are fish recipes. I usually don’t think of cooking fish in the slow cooker, but it really is a great way to retain moisture and the delicate flavor.

Slow Cooker Salmon Cakes

Slow Cooker Corny Salmon Cakes

The first recipe I adapted was the Corny Salmon Cakes. I love this falafel slow cooker recipe so I decided to use a similar technique with the salmon cakes:

1. Spray the inside of the slow cooker insert with cooking spray (alternatively coat with a thin layer of olive oil).
2. Follow the recipe for Corny Salmon Cakes. Instead for forming patties though, form into balls just slightly bigger than a golf ball. I ended up opening 3 packets of salmon so I multiplied the recipe by 1.5. I made 9 salmon balls. (Another good salmon cake recipe we enjoy is Easy Salmon Cakes that you could try).
3. Place the salmon cakes into the slow cooker. (I used a 6 quart slow cooker so it was just one layer.)
4. Cook on low in the slow cooker for 4 hours or until cooked through and slightly browned on the outside.

The salmon cakes turned out with just the right amount of crispness on the outside, yet still moist on the inside.

Slow Cooker “Baked” Fish

Prepared fish in the slow cooker ready to cook

On my menu for this week was Broiled Tilapia with Garlic. I used the recipe as a general guide initially, but I really created my own. I just added a bit of this and a bit of that and didn’t measure anything. I also used wild-caught pollock rather than tilapia. You could use the same technique though with any baked fish recipe. Here is what I did:

1. Line the bottom of the slow cooker insert with aluminum foil with at least an inch coming up on all sides.
2. Place fish on the aluminum foil in one layer and drizzle with a little white wine, dash of olive oil, a dab of butter, and a few squeezes of lemon juice.
3. Sprinkle chopped garlic, fresh basil, oregano, thyme and parsley over the fish.
4. Cover with another piece of foil, tucking in on all sides.
5. Cook on high for 2 hours or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serve the fish out of the slow cooker and scoop out any juices to serve on top of the fish. The foil will be hot, so handle with care.

Tender fish in its own yummy sauce

Have you ever used your slow cooker for fish recipes?