If you've been following along, in which case you are probably in the minority, you will have noticed that I recently made crab meat stuffed shrimp then used some of that crab meat for my boules.
See here: HERE for recipes.
Well, I still had 1/2 pound of crab meat left.
That's going into crab cakes and welcome to one of my favorite meals.
I've been making crab cakes for a loooooong time.
Tweaking my recipes.
And I must admit, this particular rendition is right up there with the best.
The thing about crab cakes is you have to go easy. You don't want the filling to overwhelm the crab.
Less is more. That should be your guiding principle.
Now, I would like to use jumbo lump crab meat whenever I make my cakes,
but I'm too cheap for that. And I really don't think my cakes suffer.
That said, if you can, spring for the jumbo lump. They can only get better.
Here's my latest crab cake recipe using 8 ounces of the 1-lb. container. This is enough for 4-5 generous cakes.
Rosie's Crab Cakes
For the cakes:
8 ounces crab meat
1 egg
1 TB mayonnaise (Hellman's)
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 TB minced onion
1 TB minced sweet red bell pepper (You could use green if that's all you have. I like the red for the color. Plus it tastes red.)
1 TB minced celery
1 TB chopped parsley
Optional: 2 water chestnuts, minced (I happened to have leftover water chestnuts in the fridge, so I used two of them. Not necessary, but it does give a nice crunch.)
Beat egg with mayonnaise until smooth. Add all ingredients except for the crab meat and mix until well-combined. Gently fold in the crab meat, trying to keep the lumps intact. Do not over-mix!
Form into 5 generous cakes. Chill for an hour.
For the breading:
6 melba toasts
1/2 cup oyster crackers
12 saltines
Crush all crackers and mix together.
Coat both sides of chilled crab cakes with breading mixture.
Heat about 2 TB each peanut oil and butter in a medium skillet until butter starts foaming. About 325° - 350°. Gently slide crab cakes into pan, two or three at a time. You don't want to crowd the pan. Fry about 2-3 minutes each side, until golden brown. Drain.
Serve with Remoulade Sauce and Rosie's Cole Slaw.
Remoulade Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise (Hellman's)
2 tsp coarse grained mustard
1 tsp horseradish
1 tsp Lea & Perrins
1 TB sweet relish
1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp Texas Pete
Combine all together.
Rosie's Cole Slaw
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 TB julienned carrot
2 TB minced red pepper
Combine ingredients and toss with dressing to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can mix and mingle and meet and greet.
Dressing:
2 TB mayonnaise (Hellman's)
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cider vinegar
pinch each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
Now for the step-by-steps:
In the bowl, I've mixed the mayo, egg, Dijon, L&P, lemon juice, and Old Bay.
And I have finely minced celery, red pepper, and onion.
Add the minced ingredients to the egg mixture, along with chopped parsley, and then fold in the crab meat. Be gentle! Don't break up the meat.
Form into cakes using tins or biscuit cutters, pressing the mixture.
Chill for at least 60 minutes.
Coat chilled cakes with crushed breading mixture.
I had enough for 5 cakes.
I might have had enough for 6 cakes, but ...
... I left the kitchen for just a minute
and this precious baby might have
sneaked up to the counter and eaten about
an ounce of the crab meat.
Maybe.
She's not admitting to anything,
but the meat looked a bit light.
Just sayin'.
Here's my remoulade.
And here's my slaw.
Fry the cakes in oil/butter mixture.
The butter is for flavor. The oil is to bring up the smoke point of the butter. They work together.
You want a nice golden brown on each side.
Drain on paper towels.
And serve.
With remoulade sauce and cole slaw and a sprig of parsley for the pretty green taste.
And always lemon.
I am happy.
Mr. Hawthorne is happy.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment