Cooking web notes

Crab Cakes for Friday

We just wish Maryland blue crabs were available here but, since they aren’t we settled for these crab cakes for dinner last night.  Obviously fresh crab meat would be the best but, canned crab meat is easy to find here, as I am sure it probably is everywhere and it works fine for these crab cakes. 

These crab cakes are made of simple ingredients:  onion, garlic, paprika, Dijon mustard and an egg and bread crumbs to hold them together.  Just add enough bread crumbs to bring them together.  Shape them into patties very gently, sauté them in a little oil for 5 or 6 minutes on each side until golden and you have a delicious meal ready to eat. 

You can use any kind of bread crumbs you wish; regular bread crumbs are part of the original recipe.  However, I usually use Panko bread crumbs.  Panko is used in Japanese cuisine as a crunchy breading for fried foods, as a filler or as a crunchy topping for casseroles.  Japanese bread is made from flour that has a higher gluten content than flour used for bread-baking in America. The resulting texture is chewier and fluffier and the Panko bread crumbs absorb less oil when cooking.  I love them but, have a difficult time finding them in the stores in this area so I purchase them from this company.  What a difference they make!

The crab cakes take very little time to mix together, just 30 seconds and use a light hand when bringing it all together!  These are great crab cakes with lots of flavor and spice!

Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

2 cups lump crab meat (16 ounce can)

¼ cup Panko or other bread crumbs

1 egg

¼ cup low-fat mayonnaise

½ small onion, diced

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1-2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Cayenne pepper, optional

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup canola oil

Tartar sauce

Method:

Slightly beat egg in a small bowl and stir in mayonnaise.

Add onion, Parmesan cheese, Old Bay seasoning, garlic, paprika, cayenne, mustard, salt and pepper, if desired. 

Add crab meat and bread crumbs.  Mix quickly.

Shape into 5 or 6 crab cakes.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.

Add crab cakes and cook until golden, 5-6 minutes per side.

Drain on paper towel lined plate.

Serve with tartar sauce.

Pam’s note:  I usually place the crab cakes on a plate and set it in the refrigerator for an hour or so before frying.  This allows the mixture to bind. 

Yum!

Happy Friday!

This entry was posted on Friday, December 23, 2011 at 4:55 AM and is filed under Crab, Dijon mustard, Entree, Fish/Seafood, Onions, Panko, Parmesan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.