Best Ever Crab Cakes
Well, it’s the last week of August. Sigh. How did we get here already? Like always, the summer has flown by and somehow I’m even less ready for autumn than usual. It probably has something to do with the fact that Madeleine is starting preschool next week, her 3rd birthday party is on the horizon, I have a baby coming in 7 weeks or less, and Halloween with two (!!!) kids is coming soon after those major events! If you couldn’t tell, I’m freaking out a little. Not to mention the fact that I LIVE for the summer and am always desperately sad when it ends. But before we fall down that rabbit hole of cold weather months, I thought we could celebrate the remaining days of summer with the ultimate summer food: crab cakes!
These crab cakes are OUTSTANDING. I mean, so excellent are they that I refuse to order crab cakes at restaurants because none of them ever stack up to these. It’s a recipe my dad perfected over the years, and now my brother and I make them in our own homes. The crab meat is mixed bell peppers, scallions, Old Bay, Worcestershire, and a whole host of other yummy ingredients. And there’s a remoulade! It’s a little spicy and creamy and so good I basically lick my plate when I’m finished eating. But perhaps my favorite part about these crab cakes is that they’re broiled, not fried. Now, I love fried food. Like LOVE. But when it comes to crab cakes, I always find the flavor of the crab gets lost in a mass of fried breadcrumbs. Broiling them allows the crab meat to shine front and center, and panko breadcrumbs keep the mixture light and airy. They’re absolute perfection on a plate.
My recommendation? Treat yourselves and make these incomparable crab cakes before back to school starts and the wind changes! In the meantime, Madeleine and I will be soaking up as much sun, sand, and sea as possible.
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Best Ever Crab Cakes
recipe slightly adapted from Cuisine Magazine
Makes 8 crab cakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes active, 1 hour resting
Cook Time: 6-88 minutes
Ingredients for crab cakes:
2 tbsp. butter
2/3 cup red pepper, diced
2/3 cup celery, diced
2/3 cup yellow onion, diced
1/2-3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup scallions, minced
3/4 mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 lb lump crab meat (I buy this at Shoprite and it’s great!)
Crab Cake Directions:
In a small pan, heat butter over medium heat. Sauté onions, peppers, and celery until soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together ingredients in list—breadcrumbs through Tabasco sauce—then add the cooled onions, peppers, and celery. Finally, gently add in the lump crab meat with your fingers, picking through in the process to remove any leftover shell. (Using a fork will only break down those gorgeous lumps of crab meat, so make sure you use your hands!)
Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter or stainless steel ring, assemble the crab cakes. Pile the meat into the center of the cutter or ring, and gently press down. Carefully remove the ring and repeat with remaining crab meat. Refrigerate crab cakes until firm, at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the remoulade (instructions and ingredients below!)
Preheat broiler on high. Broil crab cakes until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Serve hot over a bed of arugula and drizzle with chipotle remoulade!
Chipotle Remoulade Ingredients:
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
½ cup scallions, (white and green parts) sliced
1⁄4 cup parsley, chopped
1-2 canned chipotle peppers (depends on how spicy you like it!)
1 tbsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotles
1 tsp. salt
pepper
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
Remoulade Directions:
Place all ingredients through pepper in a blender and process until smooth, then add mayo and process again. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
