The musings of a Hamptons-based shutterbug in her pursuit of life's joys - photography, food, and travel.
Over the holiday weekend Costco had Dungeness crabs as well as Alaskan King crab legs, two of my favorite things to eat. We usually make a salad or dip from the Dungeness crab, but this time I wanted to try something new. Peter generally doesn't care for crab cakes as all too often they are like "hockey pucks" so I did lots of research and found one recipe that I thought would work. And, it did. Crab cakes in which the crab is the star. Sweet crab, crisp crust and tart lemon - simple and divine. A side of Peter's remoulade was perfect.
When making the patties with your hands, the mixture will feel quite loose, not really cake-like. I found making the patties carefully and then chilling them over night, got them to hold together enough to make it to the pan.
There too, treat them gently. Make sure the skillet is hot when you add the patties and turning them using two spatulas is some good advice.
I found this recipe on Food52 and one commenter said that she "ate a few of them just as is, right out of the pan, with a generous squeeze of lemon, and just for fun, stuffed a few more into a good bun along with some curls of red onion, then slathered on my sister's famous tartar sauce." This is all good.
Dungeness Crab Cakes
(Makes 4-5 large crab cakes or 8 small),
1 pound Dungeness crabmeat (or jumbo lump or blacken blue crabmeat, "preferably from Maryland" wrote the Maryland-native author of the recipe)
1 large egg
1/4 cup panko or fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, homemade is best but Hellman's will do in a pinch
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, more or less to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
Lemon wedges for serving.
=======================================
- Pick through crabmeat and discard any shells, careful not to break up those lovely clumps that you paid so dearly for.
- In a large bowl, beat egg. Fold in mayo, parsley, panko, mustard, Old Bay, and salt.
- GENTLY fold in crab, use your hands, keeping those lumps intact. The mixture will likely be loose, but that’s okay. Shape into patties. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Heat butter and oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the butter stops foaming. Gently add the patties and sauté for about three minutes on each side or until they’re brown. Use two spatulas to flip them. Even if they fall apart, they still taste amazing.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
