We've talked about blue crabs: the catch and then the clean! Now, it's time to talk about the cook! We pulled out the crab from the freezer over the weekend and Jason began to get the meat out of the blue crab claws and bodies. Picking out the crab meat is all Jason, while cooking with the crab meat is all me (Jenn)! It is pretty cool to be able to pull out crab from your freezer, but if that's not you, go buy some crab meat from the store. I love to buy the Phillips lump crab from Costco. You can find it in their refrigerated section.
Here is one of our favorite crab cake recipes, which I have modified from Paula Deen's crab-stuffed shrimp recipe.
To get started, chop red peppers, garlic, and onion. Sauté in pan until onions are translucent. Add to food processor for a few pulses.
Add the half 'n half, Dijon mustard, panko breadcrumbs, mayo, egg, lemon juice, sautéed veggies from the food processor and fresh parsley in a mixing bowl. And when you don't have fresh parsley, reach for the dried parsley, just reduce what you add (instead of 2 Tbs, add 1 Tbs)!
After all ingredients have been mixed, gently fold in crab meat.
Shape into patties (approximately 8, give or take one or two). A lot of times, I'll cook some and freeze some. These crab cakes do well in the freezer, just pull them out when you are ready to cook.
In a saute pan, heat olive oil & add crab cakes. Cook over medium heat about 5-7 minutes per side. Serve with a side of horseradish mayo sauce.
As the cakes cook, put the sauce together. Grab the mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, pepper and horseradish. Mix all together and set aside.
Coast to Table Crab Cakes:
Servings: 4 (approximately 8 crab cakes)
Prep and Cooking Time: Approximately 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb crab meat
2 Tablespoons olive oil (you will use 1 Tbs at a time)
2 Tbs sweet onion, rough chopped
1/2 cup rough chopped green or red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 1/2 teaspoons half 'n half
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
For the Sauce:
1/2 Cup mayo
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp horseradish
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp black pepper
In the kitchen:
Heat 1 Tbsp olive in a skillet over medium heat and cook onions, green or red bell pepper and garlic until peppers are limp and onions translucent. Place in food processor and pulse a few pulses. Allow these veggies to cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, add half n half, mustard, egg, mayo, panko bread crumbs, lemon juice, parsley and cayenne pepper. Add sautéed vegetables. Gently fold in crabmeat. Form into small patties, about 8. Set patties aside. (You may freeze these patties and cook at a later time)
.
Wipe the skillet used for the vegetables and then add a tablespoon of olive oil and heat pan. Cook patties over medium heat until you have a crispy brown crust and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes per side.
While the crab cakes cook, prepare your sauce. In a small mixing bowl stir together mayo, mustard, horseradish, pepper and lemon juice. Mix all ingredients together. Set aside.
Enjoy!!
