Cooking crab cakes is an art that requires a perfect blend of ingredients and techniques to achieve a delicious and satisfying dish. Whether you prefer the crispy golden brown exterior of pan-fried crab cakes or the succulent, tender texture of broiled crab cakes, there are key factors to consider when selecting a recipe to ensure success. From choosing the freshest crab meat to mastering the art of binding and seasoning, this article will guide you through the process of finding the best recipe for crab cakes, whether you're a seasoned chef or a home cook looking to impress your loved ones.
Let's cook with our recipes!
PAN-FRIED SPICY CRAB CAKES
Steps:
- Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, celery and bell peppers. Season with salt and cayenne. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the crabmeat, green onions, Parmesan, parsley, mustard and lemon juice. Mix the mayonnaise, Worcestershire Sauce and hot pepper sauce together. Combine vegetable mixture with crab mixture. Fold in the mayonnaise mixture and 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Divide combined mixture into 10 equal portions and form into 1-inch thick round patties. In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and season with Essence. In another bowl, whisk the egg with the water. In a third bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 cup bread crumbs and season with Essence. Dredge the crab cakes first in seasoned flour, tapping off excess, then in egg wash, letting excess drip off. Lastly, dredge cakes into seasoned bread crumbs, coating cakes evenly. In a large saute pan, heat oil. Gently lay the cakes, 3 to 4 at a time, and pan fry until lightly golden, about 4 minutes on each side. Drain cakes on paper towels and season with Essence while still hot.
- To serve, place Creole Meuniere sauce in the center of each plate. Spoon the Roasted Vegetable Pecan Relish in the center of the sauce and lay a cake on top of the relish. Garnish with green onions and Essence.
- Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
- Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.
CHEF JOHN'S CRAB CAKES
These are what crab cakes are supposed to be like. They are basically a fried lump of crabmeat, held together with a minimum of filler. Delicious!
Provided by Chef John
Categories Appetizers and Snacks Seafood Crab Crab Cake Recipes
Time 1h23m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Mix saltine crackers, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
- Stir in crabmeat until mixture is combined but still chunky. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs on a plate.
- Shape chilled crab mixture into 4 small thick patties; coat completely with bread crumbs.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-heat; cook crab cakes until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 297.2 calories, Carbohydrate 10.8 g, Cholesterol 150.6 mg, Fat 15 g, Fiber 0.6 g, Protein 28.5 g, SaturatedFat 5.2 g, Sodium 727.6 mg, Sugar 0.7 g
FRIED CRAB CAKES
This is a recipe I came up with after trying so many crab cake recipes. I think it is fantastic, and the sauce complements the fried crab cakes. Enjoy! I'm sure you will make this recipe again and again.
Provided by Nancy Gibson
Categories Crab Cakes
Time 35m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Mix 1/3 cup panko, egg, parsley, mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, and mustard together in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Form into 4 patties and coat with remaining panko.
- Heat coconut oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties until crispy, flipping once, about 12 minutes total.
- While patties cook, prepare the sauce: Combine mayonnaise, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth.
- Serve crab cakes with sauce on the side.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 868.9 calories, Carbohydrate 28 g, Cholesterol 205.4 mg, Fat 73.7 g, Fiber 1.3 g, Protein 32.9 g, SaturatedFat 21.2 g, Sodium 1652.8 mg, Sugar 1.2 g
BROILED CRAB CAKES
I played around with Paula Deen's and Mrs. Duvall's crab cake recipes and came up with the most delicious, moist, tasty crab cake in the Northeast! My family and friends are totally amazed!
Provided by Jessica4NYY
Categories Crab
Time 42m
Yield 8 crab cakes, 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Combine lemon dill sauce ingredients and chill.
- Saute the scallions, garlic, and parsley in a tablespoon of melted butter over medium heat until wilted.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cracker crumbs, grated parmesan, and mayonnaise. Fold in the crabmeat. Shape into 8 crab cakes and coat in remaining cracker crumbs. Place crab cakes on a buttered baking pan. Melt butter and mix with lemon juice. Drizzle 1/2 of lemon butter over crab cakes.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Drizzle remaining lemon butter over crab cakes and broil for 2 minutes until slightly browned.
- Serve with Lemon Dill Sauce.
CRAB CAKES
Mace, nutmeg's peppery sister, is what makes the difference in these crab cakes. The recipe, adapted from "Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes From the Matriarch of Edisto Island," comes from Emily Meggett, one of the most well-respected cooks in the Gullah Geechee community, whose food traditions are built largely on the crabs, shrimp and fish they pull from the water near their homes along the southeastern shoreline. She has made thousands of these using freshly cooked blue crabs, but meat that has already been picked and processed works as well. Be sparing with the bread crumbs, which should just hold the mixture together, then add more if the cakes are falling apart. Make sure the pan is very hot, then reduce the heat the minute they hit the oil. Keep a close eye while they brown. These are lovely bites to start a meal, or can star as supper, alongside rice and fresh vegetables. Ms. Meggett serves them with what she calls pink sauce, which is similar to this sauce, with the addition of grated onion and lemon.
Provided by Kim Severson
Categories dinner, seafood, appetizer, main course
Time 1h30m
Yield About 12 large crab cakes
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Heat the broiler to 500 degrees (or its highest setting). On your oven's highest rack, broil all the bread slices on a baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden and crisp but not burned. Flip all the slices over and broil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the broiler off and allow the bread to crisp in the oven until totally dry, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let cool. Using a box grater or rolling pin, coarsely grate and crush the bread slices into bread crumbs (or, pulse them in a food processor). The crumbs should look and feel like sand; you should get about 4 cups. Set the bread crumbs aside.
- In a large cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Pour the butter and onion into a large bowl. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and onion, then slowly whisk in the milk to make a creamy sauce. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, vinegar and mace.
- Add the crab meat to the cream sauce and mix lightly with a fork; don't break up the pieces of crab meat. Gently fold in just enough of the bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together (about 2 1/2 cups). Divide the crab mixture into 12 equal portions, setting them on a baking sheet as you go. They should be thick rounds - about the size of the palm of your hand, and roughly 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Using your hand, take a scoop of the toasted bread crumbs and coat each crab cake.
- Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over high. Once the oil is hot, place a few of the crab cakes in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Place the cooked crab cakes on a paper towel to drain. Working in batches, cook the remaining crab cakes, adding more oil as needed.
- Serve crab cakes immediately, or set aside in a warm oven (see Tip) while you cook the remaining crab cakes.
MRS. DUVALL'S PAN-FRIED CRAB CAKES
This recipe is the actor Robert Duvall's mother's recipe for crab cakes, and I think it is the best one there is. The crab cakes are small so they have the perfect ratio of crunchy exterior to creamy crab interior. Please use the best crabmeat you can find for best results. I use saltines for the soda crackers. This recipe was originally published in a 2003 issue of Food & Wine.
Provided by xtine
Categories Crab
Time 40m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, onion, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt and cayenne pepper. Fold in the crabmeat and 1/4 cup of the cracker crumbs. Shape the mixture into 16 cakes about 1 inch thick. Coat the crab cakes with the remaining cracker crumbs and transfer to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
- In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the foam subsides, add half of the crab cakes and cook over moderate heat until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain the crab cakes on paper towels and keep them warm in a low oven. Cook the remaining crab cakes in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons oil. Serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 468.8, Fat 29.7, SaturatedFat 7.5, Cholesterol 198.2, Sodium 916.9, Carbohydrate 19, Fiber 0.7, Sugar 1.9, Protein 30.5
Tips:
- Choose the freshest crab meat possible. Fresh crab meat will have a sweet, delicate flavor and will be free of any off odors.
- Use a light touch when mixing the crab cakes. Overmixing will toughen the crab cakes.
- Don't overcook the crab cakes. Crab cakes are best when they are cooked through but still moist. Overcooked crab cakes will be dry and tough.
- Serve crab cakes with your favorite dipping sauce. Some popular dipping sauces for crab cakes include tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and remoulade.
Conclusion:
Crab cakes are a delicious and versatile seafood dish that can be enjoyed as an appetizer, main course, or sandwich. Whether you broil them or pan-fry them, crab cakes are sure to be a hit with your family and friends.
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