Crab cakes... anyone got a great recipe?

[manxman]

If anyone can help I am looking for crab cake recipes........ American crab cakes, Thai crab cakes.....  any extra special recipes out there? I have tried a few really nice ones recently as I have been getting loads of crab but nothing that has really rocked my boat!!  ::)

Any pointers really appreciated.

thanks.  :)

[Tenpoint5]

I looked and all I have is Crab meat and Brie Soup. You can give it a whirl Crab meat is way pricey here in the heartland.

DAKOTA'S LUMP CRAB MEAT AND BRIE SOUP

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Louisiana blue crabs
2 ounces olive oil
2 medium yellow onions (chopped)
1 medium carrot (chopped)
3 ribs celery (chopped)
1 pod fresh garlic (chopped)
2 each Bay leaves
1/4 cup Brandy
1 cup white wine
2 quarts water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 quart heavy whipping cream
8 ounces Brie cheese
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. Louisiana jumbo lump crabmeat (picked for shell)
Chef: Kim Kringlie, Dakota
Using a meat mallet or hammer, crack open blue crab shells until meat is exposed. In a 1 gallon stock pot, heat olive oil, add cracked crabs and saute for 5 minutes. Add chopped vegetables and bay leaves, continue to saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add brandy, white wine and water, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 30 minutes. Using a skimmer, remove crabs and vegetables from stock. In a separate small saute skillet, melt butter, add flour and blend with a wire whisk until smooth and creamy, simmer over low heat for one minute. Add flour and butter mixture to stock using a wire whisk until all the roux is dissolved. Add heavy cream and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove outside rind from Brie and discard, cut Brie into 1 inch cubes, add to stock while constantly stirring until all the cheese is completely dissolved. Season soup with salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper. Strain soup through a fine strainer, add jumbo lump crabmeat and serve. Yields 3 quarts.
"And of course, you can add additional flavor to any Louisiana Seafood recipe with a few shakes of TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce".

[manxman]

Crab meat is way pricey here in the heartland.

Fishermen round here are having a job to give the crab away at the moment, only getting a few pence / cents each for them from the processors! Hence I am ending up with quite a few!

That recipe looks really good 10.5 and definately one to try. Thanks.  :)

[Gizmo]

Sorry Manx,
I had a recipe that I made a few years ago that turned out great.  Lost the hard drive it was on.
There is a meat market down by the beach that makes great crab cakes that you take home and cook.  I'll have to ask them if they will give up their recipe. 

[manxman]

Sorry Manx,
I had a recipe that I made a few years ago that turned out great.  Lost the hard drive it was on.
There is a meat market down by the beach that makes great crab cakes that you take home and cook.  I'll have to ask them if they will give up their recipe. 

That's really kind Gizmo, there is a Thai restaurant near us that does great ones but they won't give up the recipe ..... can hardly blame them though!  :)

[Caneyscud]

I've used this recipe from Alton ever since I saw it.  Just a traditional crabcake. 
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crab-cakes-or-fritters-recipe/index.html

I have sprinkled cajun spices on them before frying.  Have also added some cilantro and jalapeno and smoked them for a contest - did not win, but they tasted pretty good.  I make a salmon "burger" that I put cilantro and wasabi into the mixture (won 2nd place with that one) - I bet that would be good in a crab cake also.

[Ka Honu]

Crab cakes are sorta like chili in that there are two major schools of thought - crumbs or no crumbs.  I was raised thinking that you only added bread or cracker crumbs as "filler" if you couldn't get enough crab.  Since that doesn't seem to be manx's problem, here's a "basic" recipe without crumbs ...

    2 pounds jumbo lump crab meat
    2 eggs, beaten
    2 tablespoons parsley flakes
    2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
    2 teaspoons wet mustard (Dijon is good)
    2 teaspoons dry mustard
    2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
    2 teaspoons lemon juice
    1 teaspoon salt
    ¼ teaspoon pepper
    2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
   
Beat eggs. Add parsley flakes, Old Bay seasoning, mustards, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add crab meat and mayo. Gently toss or fold the ingredients together, taking care not to break up the lumps of crabmeat.  Form the cakes into rounded mounds about 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Do not pack too firmly. They should be as loose as possible, yet still hold their shape. 

Many people fry crab cakes (deep or pan fried); I prefer mine baked (450^o for 10-12 minutes or 375^o for about 20 minutes) or broiled for a few minutes on each side until browned.

If you "must" have crumbs, you can either add about 1/2 cup to the recipe (might have to add a bit more mayo) or roll the cakes in crumbs before cooking. Again, this is my prejudice, but I don't usually add crumbs and if I do, no more than 1/4 cup (of Saltines) per pound of crab.

[Tenpoint5]

Did some more looking because I knew I had it some where.

Crab Cakes

1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained
1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs (Homemade)
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 Tbls chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
2 Tbls reduced calorie mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbls lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp hot sauce
2 egg white, lightly beaten

Non-stick cooking spray
2 tsp vegetable oil divided

1) Stir together first 11 ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape mixture into 8 1/2 inch patties.

2) Coat a large nonstick skillet with non-stick cooking spray; add 1 tsp oil, and place over medium heat until hot. Place 4 patties in skillet, and cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tsp oil and 4 patties

[manxman]

That's great, spoilt for choice now....... ::)

I have printed them all out and added them to my "fish" file, I intend to give them all a try over the coming months!  :o

And I still have to find the time to fit in KyNola's New Orleans style BBQ shrimp!  :D ;)

Thanks again as I have one or two friends looking for good crab cake recipes as well.  :)

[manxman]

Happiness is.........  ;) :D

Just found a place I can buy Old Bay seasoning here in the UK!

http://www.americansweets.co.uk/original-old-bay-seasoning-513-p.asp

[Habanero Smoker]

Happiness is.........  ;) :D

Just found a place I can buy Old Bay seasoning here in the UK!

http://www.americansweets.co.uk/original-old-bay-seasoning-513-p.asp

Old Bay works on about everything. It's a great spice blend to have in your pantry.

[Ka Honu]

I'm still trying to find the recipe for Aunt Ariel's crab cakes - there is no finer version. 

Aunt Ariel was my daughter's great aunt (or something like that), born and raised into an old Maryland family.  Porto Bello, the family's "ancestral home" was built on a royal grant issued to my daughter's great (how many ever times) grandfather after the War of Jenkin's Ear and eventually sold (I think about 75 or 100 years ago) for taxes.  Interestingly enough, George Washington's half-brother, Lawrence, received a similar grant at the same time for the same purpose and that property became Mount Vernon (Porto Bello was the site of a battle in the war and Vernon was the Admiral in command at the time).  Porto Bellow is now a showpiece home (been in Architectural Digest) owned, restored, and occupied by Ben Bradlee & Sally Quinn.

Anyway, AA made the best crab cakes in Maryland, bar none (Sorry G&M, Faidley's, Timbuktu, and the rest).  She died about five years ago and the recipe may well have gone with her.  My ex thinks she may have it and has promised to look.  If she finds it, we're golden.  If not, we'll have to settle for second best.

[KyNola]

Manx,
Both of the crab cake recipes posted look great.  Heck if you have access to lots of crab like it sounds like (darn you ;)), I would give them both a try.  They are very similar recipes but just enough different to warrant doing them both.  If you like a bit of crunchiness to them, try lightly rolling with Panko bread crumbs on the outside, just a very very light coating as I heartily agree with the wise old turtle about bread crumbs as filling in a crab cake.

KyNola

[Mr Walleye]

ManxMan

You're probably aware of it but there are a number of copycat recipes around for Old Bay seasoning. Here a link to one of them....

http://www.copykat.com/2009/02/13/old-bay-seasoning/

Mike

[manxman]

You're probably aware of it

No, the only time I have seen Old Bay seasoning mentioned is occasionally here on the forum so thanks for the info Mr Walleye.

Lots of good feedback ..... thank you.  :)