Variations On A Theme
MARYLAND LADY CRAB CAKES
1 lb crabmeat
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large egg
About ¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp dry mustard
Remove all cartilage from crabmeat.
In a bowl mix breadcrumbs, egg, mayonnaise and seasonings. Add crabmeat and mix gently but thoroughly. If mixture is too dry, add a little more mayonnaise. Shape into 6 cakes.
Cook cakes in fry pan, in just enough fat to prevent sticking, until browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
Note: If desired, crab cakes may be deep fried at 350F 2-3 minutes, or until browned.
Makes 6 crab cakes.
From the Maryland Seafood Cookbook, published by the Maryland Office of Seafood Marketing.
HELEN STOVALL’S CRAB CAKES
3 cups crab meat
2 eggs
2 tbls mayonnaise
1 tbls flour
Black pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt
½ cup fine bread crumbs
1 egg
Don’t break crabmeat too fine; sift in the flour. Beat eggs, mayonnaise, seasonings into the crabmeat. Mold the mixture very gently into cakes. Beast the extra egg. Dip the cakes into this; then coat lightly with bread crumbs. Fry until the color of toast. Sprinkle gently with frizzled parsley.
From Helen Stovall of Carteret County, North Carolina
THE CLASSIC CRAB CAKE
1 egg
2 heaping tbls mayonnaise
1 heaping tsp prepared yellow mustard
1 tbls cream
Salt & pepper to taste
1 slice bread, toasted and crumbled
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb fresh crabmeat
Mix together all ingredients except crab. Stir in the crab and form into 4 patties.
Fry in cooking oil until golden, about 5 minutes on each side.
Yield: 4 servings
From the book, From A Lighthouse Window: Recipes and Recollections from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Side notes on this recipe say: Every Bay cook has a “best” crab cake recipe. They don’t come any better than this.
This is followed by the following recipe, with the sidenote: A purist’s delight, with no “sawdust” to diminish the splendor of pure crabmeat:
THE ULTIMATE CRABCAKE
1 lb lump crabmeat
1 egg, beaten
Crab seasoning to taste
Mix the ingredients together, seasoning to taste. Form mixture into two 8-ounce crab cakes.
Place crab cakes on a preheated, oiled frying pan. Cook over medium heat on both sides until browned, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.
WINNIE’S CRAB CAKES
1 lb crabmeat
2 eggs
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
12-3/4 cup bread crumbs
Mix ingredients together and form into cakes. Fry in no-stick pan until golden brown on each side.
Recipe provided by a lady who’s full name I never got. We were crabbing together off a pier on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. She pointed out that this same mixture could be used to fill cleaned crab shells and baked at 350F for about 20 minutes.
CRAB POTATO CAKES
1 lb crabmeat
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp salt
Dash pepper
Dash onion salt
Remove any shell or cartilage from crabmeat. Combine all ingredients. Shape into 12 cakes. Place cakes in a heavy frying pan which contains about 1/8 inch of fat, hot but not smoking. Fry at moderate heat. When cakes are brown on one side, turn carefully, and brown on the other side. Cooking time is approximately 5-8 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper. Serves 6
Traditional recipe from Beaufort, North Carolina
RED’S CRAB CAKES
1 lb cooked crab meat
2 eggs, beaten
½ lb onions, chopped
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil or shortening
In a large mixing bowl combine crab, eggs, and onions. In a separate bowl combine cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper. Add just enough of the cornmeal mixture to hold crab meat together when patties are formed. Panfry patties in hot oil, browning each side.
From “Red” Otis Radford, Carolina Beach, North Carolina
CRAB CAKES WITH MUSTARD SAUCE THE CASTINE INN
1 cup onion, finely chopped
2 tbls vegetable oil
1/3 cup parsley, minced
5 large eggs, beaten lightly
2 tbls finely ground toasted hazelnuts
3 tbls milk
2 cups Saltines, crushed
2 lb lump crab meat
for the sauce:
2/3 cup dry vermouth
3 tbls red wine vinegar
2 shallots, minced
3 black peppercorns
1 ½ cups fish stock or clam juice
2 cups heavy cream
White pepper to taste
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
2/3 cup sour cream
½ stick unsalted butter, melted
In a small skillet cook the onion in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasional, until it just turns golden. In a large bowl combine the onion, parsley, eggs, hazelnuts and milk and stir in 1 cup of the Saltine crumbs and the crabmeat.
Make the mustard sauce: In a saucepan combine the vermouth, vinegar, shallots and peppercorns. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil until liquid is almost evaporated. Add the stock and boil until reduced by half. Add the cream and boil until reduced by one third, and add white pepper and salt to taste. Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the mustard and sour cream. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl and keep it warm, covered.
Form the crab mixture into cakes, using 1/3 cup for each cake, and transfer them as they are formed to a shallow bowl holding the reserved cup of Saltine crumbs. Coat the cakes well and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake them in the middle of a preheated 450F oven for 8 minutes. Brush the tops of the crab cakes with the melted butter and broil the crab cakes under a preheated broiler, about 4 inches from the heat, for 2-3 minutes, or until they are just golden.
Serve the crab cakes with the mustard sauce.
From a magazine article sent by a friend. Neither the magazine nor the location of The Castine Inn were identified.
I cannot imagine crabs being steamed without it. I use Old Bay in crab cakes and many other dishes unrelated to seafood and do not find it too salty for that either.
