CRAB CAKES
Ingredients
- Makes two main servings or appetizers for 4.
- 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons of dry bread crumbs (Panko or fine textured)
- 1 tablespoon of celery, finely diced
- 3 or 4 dashes of hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1/2 of a raw egg, beaten
- 1 1/3 cup of crab meat (lump is best, some leg and claw meat is OK)
- 1 cup of Panko for coating
- oil for frying, at least a 1/4 of an inch deep
Directions
Using a deep bowl, combine the mayonnaise, bread crumbs. celery, hot sauce, lemon juice and raw egg and mix well. Then gently fold in the crab meat until it is barely coated with the mixture. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. On a large plate form four cakes or if making appetizer portions make 8 to 12 smaller ones. Just before frying, heat the oil to medium high. Put the Panko on a plate and, one at a time, roll the crab cakes in the Panko to cover. Warning: the mixture is very loose at this point -- be quick and gentle. Sautée the cakes over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve with a horseradish mayonnaise or a spicy seafood cocktail sauce.
Notes
This based on several recipes I have tried over the years. This is the simplest and has the fewest ingredients. Feel free to add extras as you wish. Some restaurants deal with the looseness problem by putting the formed cakes in the freeze for a few minutes. One time in a fancy Baltimore restaurant I got a crab cake that had been in the freezer too long. It was golden brown on the outside. And frozen solid in the center.
Half a raw egg? Easy -- just crack the egg carefully, keeping the best half of the shell, and after beating the egg in a bowl pour some of it into to the half shell. That's your half of a raw egg.
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