Eric's Crab Cakes
I have been working on this recipe since --Jan, 2018. I am still tweaking it. I didn't start with any particular recipe other than that on the back of a breadcrumb canister (called for crab, mayo, bread crumbs and salt). I have made this dozens of times, each time adding something, or changing a technique, or subtracting something, or changing a temperature, etc... I have resourced online videos and feedback from friends to help develop this. It is still a work in progress and I am posting it here so I can continue to reference it. It is close to finished (as of 06/01/18 Note: Garnish notes are just for me at the moment, feel free to garnish however you want :-)
INGREDIENTS
Nutrition- 1⁄4cup finely diced red onion
- 1⁄4cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 1⁄8th cup finely diced celery
- 2tablespoons butter
- 1⁄4
- 1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1tablespoon hot sauce
- 2tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1dash ground pepper
- 1 1⁄4cups breadcrumbs (I am currently using Panko)
- 1
- 1
- 3
- 1 1⁄2
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 2tablespoons butter
- 1⁄4
- 1⁄4cup red pepper, strips finely julienne (for garnish)
- 2cups ice water (for garnish)
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DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350f.
- Heat skillet to med hi heat and melt 2T butter. Place diced onions, red pepper, and celery in butter, season to taste ( a little S&P) and saute until soft and translucent. Remove from heat and place in large mixing bowl.
- Add all ingredients down to and including the egg (Whisk it first, in a separate bowl).
- Now it is time to start being gentle. Add the Breadcrumbs gently to the mix. We need it fully incorporated, but we don't want to make a mush of it. Try to get it wet with the mixture without smooshing it into a paste (Not that easy, but doable).
- Now for the crab. Fold in the crab gently so as not to break it up too much.
- Shape mixture ( don't cut out) into individual crab cakes (I am using a 2 1/4 round form) 1 - 1 1/2 inch high. Set on plate and cover with plastic wrap air tight. Set in fridge over night or at least 3 hours (this allows the egg to "set" the cake together - I prefer overnight).
- When ready to cook: Whisk together the 3 eggs in a shallow bowl. Prepare 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs on plate for coating.
- Gently (one at a time) set the crab cakes in the egg wash. Using a spatula or spoon wash the egg over the crab cake then flip, and wash the other side.Be very gentle with the flipping / washing so as not to break apart your cake. Remove to the panko and coat each side. flip on end and evenly coat the edges of each cake by rolling in the panko. I do this one at a time due to limited space on the breadcrumb plate. Set on clean plate.
- Heat oil in skillet on medium heat. once oil is hot enough to sizzle a loose breadcrumb place cakes in pan into oil in a circular pattern. Fry on first side for about 3 - 4 minutes (check bottom for golden brown color ( DON'T BURN). Gently flip to other side.
- Once flipped, drop in the other 2T of butter (scattered around skillet) and begin basting the sides of each cake with the butter / oil mixture. Once the bottoms are brown, pick up each cake and place it on its side, rolling them to achieve a bit of color all around the cake.
- At this point, we are almost done! remove each cake from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate(to absorb extra oil).
- Transfer to a roasting rack lined baking sheet (or just on the sheet if you don't have a roasting rack) and place in oven for ten minutes.
- Remove from oven and plate.
- Using a remoulade (I am currently using #87124) dress the cakes over with zig-zag lines and place a small pool on the side. (A piece of folded romaine with some halved cherry tomatoes also looks nice).
- For Garnish: Place finely julienne'd onion stem and red pepper in ice water bath for at least 15 minutes (they should be nicely curled up). Pull from water and place on paper towel to drain. Once drained, place a little of each (I prefer to get them mixed up) on top of each crab cake. Serve.
- take photos :-) Enjoy!
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