Crab Cakes

I've been wanting to try making crab cakes for a really long time and finally did so last night!  These were so good.  I used Phillips Refrigerated Canned Crab, which is a high-quality crab and the best I can get here (besides fresh from the ocean.... but the crabs I've seen here are just tiny, so it wouldn't be very fun to get the meat off of them myself).  The crab did not have a stong fishy taste or odor; it was sweet and delicious. 

When I opened the can, there appeared to be no extra water, so I did not drain the meat at all.  When I was forming the patties, though, the mixture seemed very wet, so maybe I should have set the crab to drain slowly in the fridge.  I just gently squeezed out excess moisture and let it run out from between my fingers.  It was a bit of a messy buisness, forming these patties.... I had crabby hands, lol.  Luckily my 4-year old was with me to fetch an extra mixing spoon or whatever I needed so I didn't have to crabify my kitchen at all. 

When making crab cakes (I keep wanting to call them crabby patties, like my kids, lol), or salmon cakes, it's important to form them into patties at least an hour ahead of time, so they firm up in the fridge.  This makes them less likely to fall apart during cooking.  I made these into patties about 4-5 hours ahead of time and stuck them in the fridge.  They held up wonderfully during cooking- not falling apart at all.  I think I'll do that with my salmon patties from now on, too. 

I based these crab cakes on this salmon cakes recipe, which comes from the blog Eating, Etc.  I did modify a few things, like using a bit less mustard, etc, because I really wanted the flavor of the crab to shine through.  It did- these were so good!  For some reason, though, only my 4-year old seemed really excited about them.  My other kids ate about a half of one and that's it.  I don't know why; as they weren't fishy at all.  Oh well, that means leftovers for my lunch today- YAY!!!!

Crab Cakes

makes 8-10 Crab Cakes

16 oz crab meat

1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 Tablespoon grainy sweet-hot mustard
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup crushed Ritz cracker crumbs
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1.  Drain crab well.  Set in a large bowl, and set aside (in the fridge).

2.  In a small bowl, mix green onion, celery, pepper, mayo, mustards, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, Old Bay, and the egg.  Mix in Ritz cracker crumbs. 

3.  Gently fold the mayo mixture into the crab, being careful not to break up the crab meat too much.  Form into 8-10 patties (I made 10).  Coat each pattie carefully in Panko, and set on a large plate or platter.  (To coat the patties, I held them in my hand and spooned the Panko over them.  This made a mess of my hands but coated the patties well without breaking them). 

4.  Cover the formed, Panko-coated crab cakes with plastic wrap, and set them in the fridge for a few hours to firm up.

5.  Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet.  Over medium heat, cook the crab cakes for about 4-5 minutes, until browned.  Carefully flip and cook the other side for a few minutes until browned.  Cook 4 to 5 at a time; add more butter or oil if necessary, and cook the other cakes.  Drain on a paper-towel lined plate, and serve.

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