Can you microwave frozen fishcakes?  Cooking for one, or in a hurry, sometimes you just want to get the job done!  The instructions on the packet say they should be fried in oil or oven baked and never mention a microwave method at all!  Reluctantly you might then go down those two routes, taking 10-15 minutes to cook a single fishcake – but did you know you don’t have to?  You could be biting into them in just 3 minutes.

In a perfect world a fishcake is a nice dark brown and the breadcrumbs are crispy from having been fried or oven baked.  If you’re prepared to accept that you’ll miss out on this “perfect presentation” feature, then you’ll be pleased to know that you can microwave frozen fishcakes directly from the freezer.

I picked up a pack of fishcakes from Iceland earlier – their budget bag, just to see how good they were.  Yes, I know I COULD make my own fishcakes, but that’s not what I felt like doing!  These were just £1 for 12 and ready to go, who wouldn’t be tempted?

Iceland 12 Breaded Cod Fishcakes, 504g

The description is that they are “Minced cod with potato and seasoning coated in crisp breadcrumb.” The fishcakes have 94 calories each and the pack indicates that two fishcakes is a portion (188 calories for two) – if they’re ovenbaked. The ingredients list says: Minced Cod (Fish) (41%), Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Dried Potato, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Yeast, Dried Parsley, Black Pepper Extract, Parsley Extract.

These small, budget fishcakes have already been cooked, the fish and the potato are fully cooked – and so all you’re doing is reheating them.  In any case, even fresh fish cooks pretty quickly in a microwave.

Here’s the method to cook small, budget, fishcakes in the microwave:

How to Microwave Frozen Fishcakes

1. Remove one or two fishcakes from the bag and place them on a microwave dish – anything the right size will do.
2. Place a cover over the dish – it doesn’t have to be sealed, you could use a microwave cover, or splatter guard, some pricked clingfilm or even a sheet of kitchen paper.  I used a random lid that almost fitted.  The objective here is to retain most of the steam, to keep them moist, but it’s not essential to retain all the steam/heat.
3. Microwave on full power (800 watt microwave) for 1½ minutes.  Turn the fishcakes over. Microwave on full power for a further 1½ minutes.

If your fishcakes are large and chunky, then this method will still work, but they will need longer cooking.

These can make a great snack meal if popped into a bread roll with a splash of ketchup – or even an easy packed lunch to take to work if you’ve a microwave there.

The photo above is two Iceland fishcakes cooked exactly to this method, just 3 minutes and then I took the photo – the colour’s quite good – and the outside was even a little crispy!

Meals Under £1

Two fishcakes for lunch worked out at 17p as I just ate the two fishcakes with a fork!  If I’d added more food to the plate these fishcakes would certainly have ended up being a meal for under!

Serve with some fresh greens/cabbage, steamed and maybe a nice little bit of parsley sauce or some tartare sauce. You can make parsley sauce by using my microwave white sauce mix for one person and adding in a little parsley!

Or how about some chips on the side?

Verdict: 

These are a keeper.  I would buy again. Having said that, I do like to try foods from a variety of shops so the next time I buy fishcakes it’ll probably be a random purchase from another shop, just because it’s good to also try others.  In any case, this is the method I’d use to microwave fishcakes from frozen, no matter who has made them!