oriGINAl Crab Cakes

OriGINAl  Crab Cakes

Makes 5-6 crab cakes

OBJ: TCW be able to combine many years of making crab cakes into one “original” recipe

Ingredients:

½ lb jumbo lump crab meat

3 slices of ciabatta bread, torn into 1 inch pieces

2 TBS  mayonnaise

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp dried parsley

1 TBS minced garlic

2 TBS minced shallots

¼ Cup diced red pepper

½ TBS unsalted butter

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

S & P (salt and pepper)

1 C Italian breadcrumbs in a shallow dish

½ Cup canola oil

3 slices of lemon

Procedures:

1.      In a medium size sauté pan, heat the butter and olive oil on medium-low heat. Add garlic, shallots, a pinch S & P, and parsley, heat until softened, about 5 minutes

2.      To that pan, add red peppers and let them soften, about 5 – 8 minutes. Take off heat and let cool down

3.      In a large bowl, mix together the torn bread, crab meat, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, egg, and S & P to taste. Add in the red pepper mix sauté and combine

4.      Using a ½ measuring cup to help, scoop and shape  crab mixture into a patty. After you make one patty, gently place in bread crumbs, one side then the other. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining crab mixture and breadcrumbs. Once all crab cakes are made, you can press the cakes gently to help form a “unified” patty. Don’t worry, they will be somewhat loose, the next step is the key…

5.      Place the crab cakes, uncovered,  in the refrigerator to set for about an hour

6.      Preheat oven to 420 degrees

7.      In a large non-stick pan, heat the canola oil so that it goes ¼ way up the sides

8.      Make sure the oil is hot before you gently place the crab cakes in oil. You can do this by dropping bits of breadcrumb into oil to see if it bubbles or the end of your wooden spoon and look for bubbles to come up

9.      Gently place crab cakes in oil over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes  or until bottom is browned, then using 2 spatulas flip cakes over to brown other side for about 4 minutes

10.  Transfer to same foiled baking sheet they were “setting” on and place in oven for 8-10 minutes

11.  Serve with slice of lemon to drizzleJ

***This recipe can serve 2 people for an entrée or 4-8 for an appetizer. You can definitely double everything and more for a crowd too. The crab cakes can be placed in fridge overnight if you would like to get ahead but then I would cover them so the bread crumb doesn’t dry out.**