Unbelievably spontaneous meal tonight. With less than an hour remaining at work, a co-worker asked if I've ever had the crab cakes from Whole Foods Market. I hadn't so I engaged in conversation. The way they were talked up was great. It got me craving crab cakes. I traveled to San Francisco last year and had some uber-fresh crab cakes. Those were the absolute best ones I've ever had. These below, come in at a very close second.
While easy to make, I became a little anxious and decided to pull the mixture out of the refrigerator early. Nothing wrong with that other than texture.
Basic recipe for Crab Cakes:
Ingredients:
1 egg
3 Tbsp lemon juice (1 large lemon)
3 Tbsp olive oil (or other high quality non-flavored oil)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Old Bay seafood seasoning
1 tsp ginger powder
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp hot sauce (Sriracha or Tabasco)
1 lb real crab meat (fresh=best, avoid imitation as it won't mix well)
flour for dusting the mixture
your favorite frying oil blend (2:1 vegetable:olive is my preference)
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the ingredients in order. Order actually doesn't matter other than crab being last. It was just easy to mix the liquids first. After mixing the ingredients, spread the mixture around the bowl and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. The reason for spreading the mixture is to increase surface area so it cools quicker. If it's in a lump in the bowl, you'll have to chill longer.
After it's chilled, use a large dinner spoon to scoop a glob of the mix and dust with the flour. Using your hands, form into a small patty and fry 2-3 minutes per side or until browned on each side. Serve on top of a fresh spring salad mix with some spicy mayonnaise although you won't even need dressing as this is not a dry crab cake.
