Feeling Crabby? Well, I’ve got a cure for that…
Crab Cakes! Scrumptious. Decadent. Delicious Crab Cakes!
And these aren’t your ordinary old, dry crab cakes. You know the ones….the expensive restaurant crab cakes that are really breadcrumb cakes with a hint of crab. Nope, these are fully of crabby goodness.
Crab Cakes are a snap to prepare and will win-over even your crabbiest friends.
Here’s what you need:
1 pound lump crab meat, green onions, parsley, mayonnaise, 1 egg, Tabasco, Old Bay Seasoning, Salt & Pepper, Flour, Butter, Light Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil.
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Let’s talk crab meat. I’m using lump crab meat available at my store in 1/2 pound vacuum packed containers.
I find these at my store in the refrigerated cases near the fresh fish counter. If you have the budget, jumbo lump crab meat is even better. And of course, if you have fresh crab meat available near you, by all means, go for it!
Pick through the crab meat to ensure that there are no wayward pieces of shell or tough bits.
For this recipe we will use just the dark green parts of 3-4 green onions. Cut the dark green ends away from the lighter green and white parts saving the white parts for some other recipe.
The dark green sections have a mild flavor and will add a nice light tangy taste without overpowering the crab cakes. Split each onion piece in half lengthwise to make very thin strips.
Line up the thin strips and slice across them to mince the onions in to tiny pieces.
Use 3 or 4 green onions to equal 1/4 cup of minced onions.
Chop up a few sprigs of fresh parsley into minced tiny bits to equal about 2 Tablespoons of parsley. Like the onions, we want the parsley to be in very tiny pieces so that it mixes easily with the crab.
Add the minced green onion, minced parsley and crab meat to a large bowl.
Season the crab meat with 2 teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning.
Do you use Old Bay? It’s a wonderful seasoning blend good for most things seafood. Look for it in the spice section OR near the fresh fish counter in your store. It is a great all round seasoning — sprinkle a little Old Bay on your favorite fish and grill it up for a tasty, simple dinner.
Add salt and pepper to your own taste. I used about 1/2 teaspoon of each.
Let’s add a little kick to these crab cakes with a couple of good dashes of Tabasco Sauce!
Add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to the crab mixture.
Remember that these are not your ordinary dry crab cakes full of filler. Oh no! These are all crab, baby!
Add 2 Tablespoons of Plain Dry Breadcrumbs. We will probably add at least 1 more Tablespoon later.
Mix the crab mixture carefully with a spatula, “folding” the ingredients up from the bottom of the bowl. Take care not to over-stir. We don’t want to break up the crab meat.
Add 1 egg to the mixture and carefully fold it in. The crab meat mixture should be fairly wet.
To make the mixture hold together, you will probably need to add 1-2 more Tablespoons of breadcrumbs. I added one more for 3 Tablespoons total.
Test a little of the crab meat in your fingers to see if it will hold together in a patty. Don’t use any more breadcrumbs than absolutely necessary…this is the secret to extra crabby cakes.
Form the crab meat into patties. Try to do this fairly quickly and with the least amount of handling possible. They should come together fairly easily in your hands.
Don’t worry if they feel a little fragile at this point. Refrigerate the crab cakes for 20-30 minutes to help firm them up for easier cooking.
Happy crab cakes. One pound of crab meat makes 6 medium sized cakes or 4 jumbo cakes.
How about a lovely light Arugula salad as a nice cushion for the crab cakes? Say yes.
Here’s what you need:
1 bag of Baby Arugula, Light Olive Oil, Dijon Mustard, lemon, salt & pepper.
Arugula is one of the great secrets of the lettuce family. It has a little hint of a peppery flavor and has much more flavor than most of those other baby greens that are all the rage in salads these days.
Make a quick and easy light vinaigrette for the salad by adding about 2 Tablespoons of light olive oil to a mixing bowl.
While I usually cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the dark green stuff), in this case we want the star of the show to be the delicious crab flavor. A lighter oil gives you all the goodness of olive oil without upstaging the crab cakes.
Add the juice of 1/2 a lemon to the oil.
Add about 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard. This will give the salad dressing a little more body and flavor.
Season the dressing lightly with salt and pepper and whisk everything together.
Put the dressing aside and wait until the crab cakes have cooked to mix the dressing with the arugula.
When your crab cakes have been in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, they should be firm enough to hold together during the cooking process.
In a large skillet (preferably non-stick), melt 1 Tablespoon of butter and 1 Tablespoon of light olive oil. This gives us the flavor of the butter and the higher cooking temperature of the oil. The best of both worlds.
Put about 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish or plate. Dredge or coat each crab cake in flour. Work quickly and carefully to get a nice light coating of flour on each side without over handling the crab cakes.
When the butter has melted and is starting to get foamy but not brown, add the crab cakes to the pan and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.
After about 3-4 minutes, the first side should be a lovely golden brown. Using a spatula and a clean hand on top for stability, gently turn each crab cake over. Lower the heat to medium low (the pan is already plenty hot) and cook on the second side for about 3 minutes until gorgeous and golden brown.
Toss the arugula lightly in the dressing – you might have more dressing than you need so I usually only add about 1/2 the dressing, toss and then add more if needed. Make a nice bed of arugula on a plate and place your delicious crab cakes on top. Garnish with the other 1/2 of the lemon and dig in!
Make Crab Cakes for someone you love today!
Here’s the recipe!
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