crab cakes- revised

I posted our crab cake recipe before, but I did a little adjusting of the ingredients and particularly of the technique. Making these, the technique is probably more important than the ingredients, but the results are something we enjoy. Over the years, we've had many crab cakes, and I really enjoy them. With that in mind, I decided to see if I could come up with a recipe of our own that improved on the things we enjoyed most, such as flavor and particularly the texture of the cakes. This is the result of many trials and errors. Enjoy.

By the way, I wonder how they'd taste if I substituted salmon for the crab portion. Any thoughts?

Crab Cakes- makes 4-6 patties1/3 cup grated Cheddar
1/3 cup Panko- a tad more might be needed to get consistency (see below)
4 heaping tbsp grated or finely chopped sweet yellow onion
3 heaping tbsp grated or finely chopped celery
3 heaping tbsp grated or finely chopped red bell pepper
1/3 grated jalapeno to taste- no seeds
1 heaping tsp salt
1 heaping tsp medium grind black pepper
3 medium or large eggs, whole
6 oz small, cooked shrimp
6 oz Blue crab lump meat

Also needed later: about 1 cup Panko for breading, 6-8 pats butter, 4-6 tbsp olive or canola oil

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Grate onion, pepper, celery, jalapeno and combine. Drain for 5 minutes Set aside in large mixing bowl

Combine Panko, Cheddar, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly but gently by hand to not pulverize Panko. Set aside.

Rinse and drain the cooked shrimp, set aside.

Drain but do not rinse the lump blue crab meat.

Combine eggs and shrimp in food processor, grate to slush. (Do NOT add crab.)

In mixing bowl, combine the grated vegetables, shrimp/egg mixture and dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly by hand, adding Panko if needed to obtain a very wet, but consistent mixture, that will just hold its shape when patted out. Add blue crab, hand kneed gently to mix well, but retain lumps.

Place ½" Panko on a plate or sheet, smoothed out. Divide the crab cake mixture into about 5-6 parts using a 1/3 cup measure. Working one at a time, flatten the crab cake out into a 4" patty using very firm pressure to eliminate any voids. Place the patty onto the Panko and using a spatula, shape the edges into right angles. Dust the top with additional Panko, patting gently to get both sides to adhere. Don't try for a full coating: just a good coating on the top and bottom.

With practice, quickly slide the spatula under the soft crab cake and gently move it to a baking sheet, reshaping the edges if needed. Try to not reform the entire crab cake, since the additional Panko from the coating will cause it to dry out and it may crack where "repaired." Repeat the process with the remaining cakes.

Place formed and coated crab cakes on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for > 1 hour to firm up.

Place 2 pats of butter in large frying pan and add 2 tbsp olive or Canola oil over medium heat. Gentle bubbling of the oil is a good indicator. Too much heat will burn the coating and any cheese. You want to cook the crab cakes all the way through, so a low-medium frying temperature is important.

Gently remove 2-3 chilled crab cakes from the baking sheet using a thin spatula and gently place in frying pan. Cook about 3-5 minutes per side, being careful to not go beyond golden brown. Gently slide spatula under cakes, turn them and complete the frying. After turning, tap the tops to judge when done in middle. The goal is a medium dark golden color to the outside, but cooked all the way through after flipping.

Gently place finished cakes on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

The crab cakes can be frozen and vacuum packed in individual Foodsaver bags. They are fine as a stand-alone entrée or in a sandwich. To serve when frozen, microwave IN the Foodsaver bag for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes to merely reheat.

Serve with sauce on the side. See below:


Sauce: Cocktail Sauce: 4 tbsp catsup, 2 tbsp grated horseradish, ½ tsp celery salt, 1 tsp
lemon juice

Hollandaise: 3-4 egg yolks, ½ stick melted butter, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp white pepper, 1 to 1-1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Note: adjust quantity of butter to equal quantity of egg yolk.
Place egg yolks in narrow, vertical, glass, such as a water glass. Microwave the butter until boiling. While frantically whipping the egg yolk with a fork, dribble in the hot, melted butter very, very slowly to temper and not cook the yolk. When fully incorporated, add salt, white pepper and lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tartar Sauce: 1/3 cup Kraft mayonnaise, 3 heaping tbsp grated onion, 2 heaping
tbsp grated dill pickle, 2 tbsp lightly mashed capers.

Remoulade Sauce: ¼ cup Thousand Island salad dressing, 2 tbsp slaw dressing, 2-3 dashes Worcestershire, dash cayenne to taste



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Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.


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