Wordless Wednesday: Crab Cakes

Chef Edward's recipe made from extra crab bought for Crab and Spinach Pasta 

Crab Cakes - On the Lighter Side

I love seafood and crab holds a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of being in Salisbury, MD and eating just pulled from the Bay blue crabs. My mom makes an incredible hot crab dip that I have eaten at many a party. I have eaten my fair share of King Crab legs at any number of raw bars. But nothing to me is as good as a nice, meaty crab cake. My husband would agree since as he puts it "I'm too lazy to pick or crack crab!" and they are his favorite.

I have made crab cakes a few times before but I am really making an effort to cook more healthy for me and my high cholesterol hubby. So, I went to my recent stand-by for all things light started with a simple Google search of “Cooking Light and crab cakes”. What I found was another food blogger who had adapted a Cooking Light crab cake recipe. I also went to the Cooking Light source and found a couple recipes but I kept coming back to Megan’s, mostly because practically everything she listed I already had on hand.

The only changes I made were 1 large shallot finely chopped instead of red onion (I don’t like a strong onion flavor), 1 TBSP Parsley flakes, (since I didn’t have fresh) and 2 TBSP of Spicy Brown Mustard (since the Dijon mustard apparently went missing). I followed the other instructions but also referred back to Cooking light for their tip on how to make uniform cakes. They suggest to use a 1/3 cup dry measuring cup. I discovered that my Pampered Chef measuring cup did an even better job since it is designed to ensure no material is stuck to the sides like in a traditional measuring cup. And seriously, if you don’t have one of these for measuring mayonnaise, sour cream, peanut butter and other sticky ingredients, you are missing out!

I also followed the tip Cooking Light shares about refrigerating the crab cakes after they are formed to help them stay together. You still need to be careful when turning them in the pan, but the adherence was much better than in previous crab cake making efforts. Next time, I won’t make the 7 cakes shown and I’ll just beef up the other 6 but it was nice to have a small “tasting cake” to sample and ensure a success with the first time using this recipe.

The result was in fact incredible and honestly, I could not say if I was served them, that they were“light”. I have always been a huge fan of Panko and in the crab cake it has a great texture. The outside develops a nice crust and you can really taste the crab which for me is the best kind of crab cake. I was a little ahead of hubby in getting dinner ready so I kept them warm on a baking rack placed on a baking sheet and then in the oven on the warming setting. Again, they are fragile so make sure you use a nice large and sturdy turner during cooking and plating. They were a big hit (hubby had 3) and I may use the recipe to make mini ones the next time I entertain.

Note: For this recipe I used Phillips crab meat for the 1st time. BJ's had a coupon for $2 off a pound and I figured I would give it a shot. For the purpose of a crab cake, I would recommend it and I would use it again.

Crab Cakes and More Panko Love

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!