crrush wrote:
We caught about a bushel of blue crabs over the course of five days, which isn't a lot for the amount of effort that actually goes into baiting and pulling crab pots as often as we did. The stinging nettles/jellyfish were a huge problem this year, for some reason. But the end result was worth it: I've got about a pound and a half of picked crab meat in the freezer, waiting for that special crab recipe to inspire me.
I remember a thread about a Wolfgang Puck crabcake recipe...some long, overly involved business. Anyone have suggestions?
Here's my favorite crab cake recipe:
Giant Maryland Crab Cakes
2lb fresh lump crabmeat
2T butter
1 cup finely minced celery
½ cup finely minced red peppers
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs (about 30 crackers)
1 egg beaten*
1/1/2- cup mayonnaise
3Tb chopped fresh parsley, dill or a combination of both
Hot pepper sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Lemon wedges, tartar sauce, or salsa
Pick over crabmeat, removing any bits of shell or cartilage, and place it in a large bowl that will fit in your freezer. In a sauté pan, heat the butter, add the celery and peppers, and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted and tender; remove from the heat and let cool slightly. To the crabmeat in the bowl, add the cooled vegetables, ½ cup of the cracker crumbs, the egg, mayonnaise, and parsley or dill and season the mixture with a few drops of hot pepper sauce and the salt and fresh ground pepper. Fold the ingredients together gently to keep from breaking up the lumps of crabmeat, cover the bowl, and place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes (or refrigerate for an hour or more). (Makes about 6 cups)
Spread the remaining cracker crumbs in a pie pan. Divide the crab meat mixture with your hands into 6 portions, make 6 round balls, then flatten the balls into fat cakes, about 4 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Handle the mixture as little as possible to keep it light-textured. Turn each cake carefully in the cracker crumbs to coat, place the cakes on a plate or tray, and return them to the freezer for 15-30 minutes (or refrigerate for a few hours) until the cakes are very cold.
In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat the oil, add the cakes, and sauté on each side for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned, using a wide spatula to turn them carefully and gently. Place the browned cakes on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375º oven for 8 minutes. Turn the cakes carefully and back for another 6 minutes, or until they are completely hot. Serve with lemon wedges and, if you wish, tartar sauce of salsa. Serves 6.
*The original recipe uses mayonnaise as a binder. The egg binds better, but gives the crab a yellow color which disguises the beautiful white color of the crabmeat. Try it both ways.
_________________
Bruce
Plenipotentiary
bruce@bdbbq.com
Raw meat should
NOT have an ingredients list!!
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And you absolutely do not want to press down on soft crabs with your tongs or spatula. I also commend Dirk's for giving the excellent advice not to wash the crabs. (Cal Ripken would never do that!!) That would be akin to rinsing a freshly shucked oyster under a spigot in order to remove shell particles, which unbelievably, I've seen many a trained culinarian do.
