I remember sitting on a dock with a crab net dangling over the side, waiting for the Blue crabs of Mississippi to climb in. After picking out the good crab meat, we would make up a concoction much like the following recipe for crab cakes. This would be stuffed in the cleaned out shell. A little corn meal was sprinkled over the top, then baked until golden brownish, producing a “deviled crab” that was good enough to make your mama say “howdy.”
And I remember driving down a road covered in potholes when I lived on Kodiak Island in Alaska, the back of my station wagon loaded with twenty-five live King Crabs. The (now) amusing story of my lesson on how to pick up a live King crab is too long to tell here.
I also remember eating many Blue crab cakes when I lived in New England, and cups of Dungeness crab walking along Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. You might say I love eating crab. So when I saw a 16-ounce pot of crab at Costco this past week, I couldn’t resist. Below is my version of crab cakes.
1 pound crab meat
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 large clove garlic, minced
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Combine all ingredients and form into patties. Roll these in a combination of fine dry bread crumbs and corneal. Place on pan covered with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. This recipe makes 12 delicious cakes. I served three of these cakes to a friend with two poached eggs, coffee and juice, and a healthy dollop of chipotle mayonnaise (see NOTE below).
NOTE: Mine took longer than 10-15 minutes, but I think I needed to put them higher in the oven, or under a broiler for the last few minutes. I also would make the cakes a little flatter next time. These crab cakes can also be pan fried. The chipotle mayo is made with a cup of mayonnaise mixed with 2 canned chipotle peppers that have been finely chopped. This can be kept in the fridge for a week and adds wonderfully serious heat to the crab cakes.
A hui hou!
ooooooooooooohhhh, I love crab in any way, shape or form, but crab cakes are a favorite. The recipe I use is the one in Pat Conroy’s Cookbook. I’ve tried many and even have a cookbook that is only crab cake recipes – 50 of them! – by Chef Tom Douglas…. But I still go back to Pat Conroy’s.
I make one little change to his recipe – he calls for 1 egg white – no mayo – to bind the mixture together and I found I had to use 2 egg whites and I do dip the crab cakes in panko afterwards. His recipe is very light and delicate and you have to be careful because they fall apart easily while cooking, but they are still my favorite way to cook them!
You can get his recipe on-line by googling Pat Conroy’s crab cake recipe 😉
I will look up his recipe! I have found several, and it all goes back to how I remember them in the South and in New England. Also, because I have such beautiful fresh eggs, I use an entire egg, and it might have even done better with two of them. I also like panko for a coating, although cornmeal is wonderful! So many ways to fix a favorite! If only we had enough time to try them all.
A tasty endeavor…..I love to do this kind of research……… 😉
I’m afraid to do too much research! I’ve just managed to take off 40 pounds and I’m not ready to put it all back on! My research these days leads me to trying the best high protein/low carb meals! That’s fun in itself!
LOL….I know the feeling…..I’ve started cutting back on carbs also (I absolutely LOVE bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc) and although I haven’t stopped eating them completely, I miss them!
OMG…that looks so ono!