I’m such a strange one: I pick through the canful of meat, taking out the bones and skin…which I proceed to eat as-is before using the meat to make food for the rest of my family (who find them offensive).
We are so having salmon patties for breakfast.
This has turned out to be an unexpectedly fun thread, and to all you about to enjoy salmon patties with grits for breakfast for the first time, I envy you. (How you eat your grits is a whole 'nother question and one on the order of personal business alongside, “Do you trim your butt hairs?” but for now I’m going to assume you-all a) know what you’re doing and b) don’t Yankeeify the purity of hominy grits with abominations like adding ketchup, syrup, or tofu chunks. Brrrr.) I actually haven’t had any for about a year now because, living alone, I tend to eat breakfast on the run and I haven’t found a girlfriend worth cooking family secret recipes for. (And yet I share them freely over the internet. Odd world.)
One quick word about salmon bone removing technique, because it really shouldn’t take more than about a minute to do this once you’ve got the can open and the techique down, and the only tools you’ll need are a fork, mixing bowl and a paper towel.
STEP 1: Open can, tip out juice in bowl, quickly turn can upside down in bowl without splashing juice. Then, slowly lift can so that the contents retain a cannish shape. Set can aside. (Note how many intermediate steps I include in my steps)
STEP 2: The salmon is usually canned folded over. Use your fork to first remove the darkish meat and skin on the outside of the salmon-shape, dumping it in your now empty can. Ideally work from the top of the salmon pile to the bottom of the bowl, as you would cut a frosted cake.
STEP 3: Carefully pry open folded salmon in the bowl, removing now the unwanted grey-white skin and calcium bones. The salmon should now resemble quartered chunks of canned mass, except unless you’re six and gone in wily-nily. The skin you can usually scrape off in one piece more or less; the bones will be lined up in vertebrae and are easy to spot and remove.
STEP 4: Pour out as much salmon juice as you desire in the sink. If you have a cat, give it the cat, as well as the unwanted skin, dark meat and bones. Your cat (or dog!) will love you that much more. At best you should have a tablespoon and a half of debris. Use the paper towel to wipe any spills and to stuff inside the salmon can to contain odors. Use the meat now left in the bowl for your pattie mix.
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Anyway, a poll: Do you remove the bones from canned salmon? Always? Sometimes? Etc?
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Of course not I'm a bloke, and I couldn't be bothered, I paid for it I'm eating it.I am now a convert of salmon patties for breakfast. Incidentally so is a certain burly gentleman (ACBG) who kept me company on a cold night. 
Salmon patties, scrambled eggs, grits and biscuits. A great breakfast on a cold morning. Cool thing is, I can now have salmon patties for supper and the next day reheat for breakfast. Brilliant! Just brilliant!
-swampbear (don’t take much to awe me does it?)
Pink salmon is what we feed to dogs up here. It’s really the bottom of the barrel as far as salmon goes. I highly recommend using reds or silvers, preferably the former.
Just in case you all can’t find that other thread, I’ll repeat my recipe here:
Chefguy’s Salmon Cakes
8 Cups Cooked, flaked red salmon
8 Eggs, beaten
2 Cups Crushed saltine crackers
1 tsp Hot paprika
2-3 Tbsp Dried thyme leaves
2 Bunches green onions, chopped
2 tsp Salt
Mix all ingredients together by hand until just blended. Form into patties by hand or…spread out on a large cutting board to a depth of about one inch. Cut patties with a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter.
Fry cakes in a little butter until nicely browned and heated through. Serve with a remoulade or a Louis dressing or an aoli. Makes about three dozen.
These freeze exceptionally well, but I recommend using a vacuum sealer.
I never left the bones in my salmon cakes, until my sister told me I was throwing away all the calcium. She told crush the bones with my fingers. There are no crunchy bones in my salmon cakes. I still remove the skin and dark meat. I probably shouldn’t, it probably has a lot Omega three. I guess I could try leaving it in. I also found I can bake them instead of frying them, still tastes great, and a little healthier.
My mother always left the skin and bones in so I do too. I like the crunch, but I understand mashing them for patties. Sounds good; maybe I’ll try salmon cakes. Did you’all know that canned salmon is first canned, then cooked?
I remove the bones by throwing the unopened can in the garbage.
I buy high quality fresh wild salmon (I am in the Seattle area) but for salmon patties I don’t mind the so-called “pink crap”. Works great and I don’t have to deal with the icky stuff. I love salmon patties.
Working my way through university, I spent four summers working in a salmon cannery. When it got real busy, canned salmon was all I had to live on. Sockeye of course. And I ate everything.
I never found the bones that crunchy, maybe occasionally the odd one was a bit bit more crunchier than the others, but a slight bite and they were mush.
And I still eat canned salmon, often right out of the can. Sockeye of course, nothing but.
I always removed the bones. Then I discovered canned boneless salmon.
I pinch the vertebrae with my fingers, and they break into little pieces that I leave in the salmon.