In the realm of seafood delicacies, few dishes can rival the delectable allure of down east crab cakes, a culinary treasure that has long been savored along the scenic shores of Cape Cod. These succulent crab cakes, crafted with a symphony of fresh crab meat, aromatic herbs, and a touch of quintessential New England flair, capture the essence of the region's rich maritime heritage. Whether you're a seasoned seafood connoisseur or a novice cook eager to embark on a culinary adventure, this article will guide you through the nuances of creating the perfect down east crab cakes, ensuring that your taste buds are tantalized by the harmonious blend of flavors and textures that define this iconic Cape Cod dish.
Here are our top 11 tried and tested recipes!
CRAB AND COD FISH CAKES WITH TOMATO SALSA
Mary Berry adds just enough spice to her fishcakes to make sure the delicate flavour of the crabmeat shines through. Serve them with a simple tomato salsa for a tasty supper.
Provided by Mary Berry
Categories Main course
Yield Serves 6
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Put the potatoes in a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and mash. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
- Grease a sheet of foil with the butter and put the cod loin in the centre, season with salt and pepper and wrap in the foil to make a parcel. Put on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes, or until just cooked through. Set aside to cool. When completely cool, carefully flake the fish into large pieces. Reserve the cooking juices.
- Spoon the cold mash into a bowl, mix in the spring onions, mayonnaise and mustard. Add 2 tablespoons of the fish cooking juice, then add the flaked cod and stir in the crabmeat. Add the parsley and hot pepper sauce and stir until combined. Season to taste.
- Shape the mixture into 8 fishcakes, roughly 9cm/3½ in diameter, this is easiest with damp hands. Place on a tray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on a plate and coat each fishcake. Return to the tray and chill again in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile for the salsa, mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a wide, heavy-based frying pan, add the butter and oil and fry the fishcakes over a high heat for 4 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown all over. When frying, it's best not to overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches, if necessary.
- Serve hot with the tomato salsa and a simple dressed salad.
CAPTAIN DUARTE'S SALT COD CAKES
Based on my father-in-laws recipe, these fish cakes use salt cod. Trust me, it is worth the effort to find the salt cod. The slight saltiness of the cod brings out a whole new dimension of flavor. Who knows fish better than a Portuguese fishing Capt? Even Emeril would be proud! Serve with a good tartar sauce.
Provided by NainInCandia
Categories Appetizers and Snacks Tapas
Time 9h
Yield 6
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Place the salt cod into a bowl and cover with cold water. Refrigerate for 8 hours. Pour off the water and replace with fresh water every 2 hours. After the fish has soaked for 8 hours, rinse in cold water, and cut into 3-inch sections.
- Place the cod and potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender and the cod flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Place the potatoes and cod into a mixing bowl. Season with the seafood seasoning, pepper, and parsley; roughly mash with a potato masher. Stir in the eggs and onion until evenly combined. There should still be pieces of cod and potato in the mixture. Form into golf ball-sized pieces, and roll in the flour. Press between your palms to flatten slightly.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the cod cakes in batches until golden and crispy on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 395.5 calories, Carbohydrate 32.3 g, Cholesterol 177 mg, Fat 4.6 g, Fiber 3.6 g, Protein 53.6 g, SaturatedFat 1 g, Sodium 5435.7 mg, Sugar 2.2 g
DOWN EAST CRAB CAKES
Make and share this Down East Crab Cakes recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Millereg
Categories Lunch/Snacks
Time 40m
Yield 4-8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Combine crabmeat, breadcrumbs, mustard, hot sauce, bell pepper, scallions, celery and egg in a large bowl.
- Add just enough mayonnaise to hold the ingredients together, being careful not to make it so moist that the mixture will fall apart.
- Divide into 8 patties.
- Coat with additional bread crumbs, then fry, four at a time, in hot oil until crispy and brown on all sides.
- ***Patties can be made ahead of time and frozen- they freeze very well.
DOWN-SOUTH CRAB CAKES WITH COLLARD GREENS AND ROASTED GARLIC BEURRE BLANC
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Gently stir in crabmeat. Shape mixture into 10 (3 to 3 1/2-inch) patties. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
- Bake for 12 minutes.
- Spoon Collard Greens onto individual serving plates, using a slotted spoon; top each serving with 2 crab cakes. Drizzle with Roasted Garlic Beurre Blanc. Garnish, if desired.
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add prosciutto, and saute 2 minutes. Add butter, onion, and garlic; saute until onion is tender. Add collard greens and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until greens are tender.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place garlic in center of an aluminum foil sheet. Drizzle garlic lightly with oil; sprinkle with salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
- Squeeze out pulp from each garlic clove into a medium saucepan. Add lemon juice and white wine to garlic. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat about 20 minutes or until reduced by three-fourths. Stir in whipping cream; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove from heat; gradually whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until sauce is slightly thickened and smooth. Stir in salt and ground red pepper.
EASTERN SHORE CRAB CAKES
Steps:
- Place the crabmeat in a mixing bowl. Pick it with a fork and check to see that all the cartilage is removed. Add the egg, mayonnaise and mustard. Toss lightly together, using the fork so as not to shred the crabmeat too much.
- Add the seafood seasoning, parsley, minced onion, bread crumbs and grated lemon zest. Toss together lightly.
- Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Scoop up enough crab mixture to make a plump pattie about five inches in diameter. Place the crabcakes in the skillet and fry for three minutes or until a golden brown crust forms on the bottom. Flip the crabcakes over and continue to fry on the other side for another three or four minutes.
- Serve the crab cakes on soft hamburger buns or simply with a spoonful of tartar sauce.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 177, UnsaturatedFat 6 grams, Carbohydrate 4 grams, Fat 11 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 15 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 491 milligrams, Sugar 1 gram, TransFat 0 grams
CAPTAIN LINNELL HOUSE MAINE CRAB CAKES
This recipe is from the elegant Captain Linnell House in Orleans, Massachusetts as published in 'A Taste of Cape Cod'.
Provided by Chef Jeff Albany
Categories Crab
Time 1h30m
Yield 27 patties, 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Place crabmeat and all other ingredients except oil into a large bowl and mix well. Shape mixture into patties just like making hamburgers. I use a hamburger patty press. Coat outside of crabcakes with additional dry breadcrumbs. Saute crab cakes in clarified butter or peanut oil until they are brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Serve with Chive Sauce Recipe.
- This recipe freezes well. Roll crab cakes in dry breadcrumbs after thawing.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 588.2, Fat 29.6, SaturatedFat 11.7, Cholesterol 314.3, Sodium 1832.4, Carbohydrate 39.5, Fiber 2.3, Sugar 5.1, Protein 40.2
CRAB CAKES WITH CHESAPEAKE BAY MAYO
I placed my personal stamp on my Aunt Ellie's crab cake recipe by changing up some of her ingredients. They're served with a tart and tangy creamy sauce. You can serve them on an appetizer spread or as a terrific first-course at a formal dinner.-Michelle Critchell, Moon, Virginia
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Appetizers
Time 30m
Yield 16 appetizers.
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cover and chill until serving. For crab cakes, in a large bowl, combine the egg, cheese, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, onion, parsley, mustard, seafood seasoning and pepper. Fold in crab. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes., With floured hands, shape mixture by 2 tablespoonfuls into 1/2-in.-thick patties. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook crab cakes in oil in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with sauce.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 174 calories, Fat 14g fat (3g saturated fat), Cholesterol 51mg cholesterol, Sodium 287mg sodium, Carbohydrate 2g carbohydrate (1g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 8g protein.
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.
EASTERN SHORE CRAB CAKES
In Delaware, we're surrounded by an abundance of fresh seafood, particularly terrific crab. The secret to great crab cakes is fresh crab meat, not too much filler and not breaking up the crab too much. This recipe does all that. -Cynthia Bent, Newark, Delaware
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 25m
Yield 3 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Fold in crab. Shape into six patties., In a large skillet, cook crab cakes in oil for 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned.,
Nutrition Facts : Calories 599 calories, Fat 44g fat (6g saturated fat), Cholesterol 235mg cholesterol, Sodium 952mg sodium, Carbohydrate 13g carbohydrate (1g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 35g protein.
DORSEY'S FISH & OYSTER HOUSE CRAB CAKES
This recipe makes traditional crab cakes. Enjoy!
Provided by Dorsey Marshall, Jr.
Categories Appetizers and Snacks Seafood Crab Crab Cake Recipes
Time 15m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Mix together Old Bay™ seasoning, baking mix, and parsley in a medium size mixing bowl. Stir mayonnaise, mustard, egg, and Worcestershire sauce into dry ingredients. Mix in crab meat gently. Form mixture into 6 to 8 balls.
- Heat 1 inch oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place balls in pan, and flatten slightly with a spatula. Flip the crab cakes over after 3 minutes, or when the crab cake is browned on one side. Continue frying until done. Drain on paper towels.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 294.8 calories, Carbohydrate 1.7 g, Cholesterol 75.1 mg, Fat 26.5 g, Fiber 0.2 g, Protein 12.8 g, SaturatedFat 3.6 g, Sodium 367.7 mg, Sugar 0.2 g
DOWN EAST CRAB CAKES ~ SAVORING CAPE COD
You'll love these. This recipe is from a famous chef from "The Grouper Cafe" in Portland Maine. Taken from "Savoring Cape Cod" cookbook. Picture from Betty Crocker
Provided by Carol Junkins @CarolAJ
Categories Fish
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine crab meat, scallions, dill, mayonaise, mustard, pommery mustard is a gourmet mustard from France, use whatever you have. egg yolk, lemon juice, pepper and enough bread crumbs to hold together. Make into 4 patties.
- Saute in melted butter for 2 minutes on each side. Submitted by Kim Slobohm O'Connell
Tips:
- Use fresh crabmeat for the best flavor and texture.
- If you are using frozen crabmeat, thaw it completely before using.
- Be careful not to overmix the crab cakes, as this will make them tough.
- Use a light touch when forming the crab cakes, as this will help them to hold their shape.
- Cook the crab cakes over medium heat so that they cook through without burning.
- Serve the crab cakes with your favorite dipping sauce, such as tartar sauce or remoulade.
Conclusion:
Down East crab cakes are a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed as an appetizer, main course, or snack. They are easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste preferences. Whether you prefer them fried, baked, or grilled, crab cakes are a surefire hit with seafood lovers of all ages. So next time you are looking for a quick and easy meal, give Down East crab cakes a try. You won't be disappointed!
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