I made crab cakes the Thursday before Easter because a local grocery store was selling a pound of lump crab meat for a ridiculous price and the husband loves crab cakes. This was actually my first attempt at the crab cake mainly because I used to live near a gourmet market that would sell them fresh for cheaper than I thought I could make them, and I would just take them home and cook them for my salivating other half.
But the urge to make them struck me and I made a traditional from the red and white Betty Crocker binder version substituting the ground mustard with Old Bay.
As you can see they turned out nicely (I kept them warm in the oven using the cooling rack on the cooling rack trick) and hubby loved but the breading was a little heavy for my taste. I never liked the saltines cracker version my great-grandmother made either so I made a mental note to ease back on the breadcrumbs for next time.
Imagine my delight when I was at Emeril Lagasse's demonstration at the Culinary expo yesterday and he prepared for us a crab cake coated in my favorite....you guessed it, Panko! This indeed solidified my feeling that Panko Japanese breadcrumbs are making a comeback. Granted that crab cake I ate yesterday came from Emeril himself (or at least his recipe and his very capable Sous-chefs) but the lightness of the exterior was exactly what my previous foray into the crab cake needed.
Have you tried Panko yet? I'd love to hear how you've used in the past or in a new way!
Panko, that makes perfect sense! Panko is so light that it doesn't interfere with the delicious taste of crab. I love my crab cakes with no filler and just a light crispy outer crust. I usually use the recipe on the back of the can of Phillips backfin. It is a great recipe but I am going to substitute panko for the breadcrumbs next time.
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