Crab Cakes

[SobaAddict70]

Re type -- I don't know, although looking at Citarella's website, they've got Maine crabs, backfin lump and jumbo lump.

Maine crabmeat is the most economical so I'll probably go with that. Although if they've got the meat already picked, I'll likely get containers.

The question is, how many?

[djyee100]

I would expect 1/2 lb crabmeat to yield 4 medium-sized crab cakes. Assume a raw mixture of crab, seasonings, and breadcrumbs; allow 1/3 cup of raw mixture per crabcake.

The Citarella website recommends the stronger flavored backfin crab for crab cakes. Depending on how highly seasoned your crab cakes will be, the backfin crab may be better than the delicately flavored Maine crab.

The yield of meat from individual crabs can vary wildly. You'll have to ask your fishmonger to make a guesstimate.

[BKYLN]

A 1/2# would be closer to 2 medium cakes, though it depends on what else you put in of course. The best crab cakes I've ever had were the ones I made while working at a very popular, now-closed NYC restaurant. No bread whatsoever (except for panko to coat), crab bound with fish mousse and a "base" of diced tomatoes and onions cooked down on low heat for a long time, til the liquid has been released and then evaporated...sort of forming a tomatoe/onion paste. Add spices, herbs, garlic, etc. to the paste/base. Yields very light crab cakes with no heavy bread taking up space.

[Chris Hennes]

Also: how good are you at picking crabs? Your yield will vary quite a bit based on not just how large the crabs are, but on how good you are at getting every last morsel. I suck at picking crabs, I never get the yield the fishmonger says I should...

[threestars]

Yep, I think it will depend on how big the crab is. Anyway, hope you can post some pics of your crab cake.

[Smithy]

I've been trying my hand at making crab cakes lately, inspired by The Pat Conroy Cookbook and the advertisements of "fresh crab" (in packages) here where we're traveling.  Conroy proudly claims that he'll take all comers with his recipe, and it looks simple enough:  fresh crab meat, a little bit of egg white whipped to a froth as a binder, some chives, other seasonings.  Mix it gently, shape it, chill it, fry it.  He does not use soda crackers or bread as a binder because, he says, if he wants to taste a soda cracker, he'll eat a soda cracker, not put it into his crab cakes.

 

So far I've tried it twice, with blue crab meat from two different sources. The first time around, we looked at each other.  "Eh, tastes fishy!"  Not around the browned edges, but in the middle.  Was the crab meat not really fresh, or did I do something wrong? The second time around, I asked the fishmonger about his source.  "It comes from Mexico," he said, "and you can smell the crab before you buy it." I did.  Being a crab newbie I wasn't sure what to smell for, but it didn't smell fishy.

 

The container:

 

The mixture:

 

Just before chilling:

 

Frying them up:

 

Dinner!

 

This time around, we liked them.  I called Mr. Allex back and thanked him.  He said, "You have to smell the crab meat.  That's the only way to know if you're getting it fresh enough."  I can't wait to try telling them that, back home in northern Minnesota.

 

Getting the meat from a different source wasn't the only change I made.  I flattened the cakes more the second time around, to make sure they cooked completely at the center.  I also browned them a bit more, to make sure I had a lot of those good, savory compounds from browning reactions.

 

So, my questions:  was the "fishy" crab meat flavor the first time around due to the meat (which had smelled fine when I opened the container) or due to undercooking?  Am I doomed to only eat crab meat when I'm on some coast?  I'd like to explore this topic more, but the price of crab meat makes the experimentation pretty spendy.

[KennethT]

As far as I was aware, in the US, crab meat in containers is already fully cooked. I don't think you can buy raw crab meat other than whole crabs - which are usually alive when you buy them.

[johnnyd]

Try Maine purveyors - very good quality, and delicious.  About $20/lb shipped

 

http://www.harborfish.com/products/product-detail.php?id=104

[janeer]

You can buy fresh, unpasteurized lump crab from Maryland from several purveyors. Very expensive. I only make crab cakes, or frankly most seafood, when I am on the East Coast. Spoiled.

[DTBarton]

I like to make crab cakes with jumbo lump crab, some diced green onion, a little mayo and egg for binder and a shot of dry mustard.  A good way to get a little shot of bay seasoning flavor ( I like the Chesapeake Bay seasoning from Penzey http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyschesapeakebay.html a lot better than Old Bay, not as salty and hot with great flavor) is to coat the crab cakes in panko bread crumbs with a little bay seasoning mixed in.  I never mix the bay seasoning in with the crab.

[Smithy]

As far as I was aware, in the US, crab meat in containers is already fully cooked. I don't think you can buy raw crab meat other than whole crabs - which are usually alive when you buy them.

  

Try Maine purveyors - very good quality, and delicious.  About $20/lb shipped

 

http://www.harborfish.com/products/product-detail.php?id=104

  

You can buy fresh, unpasteurized lump crab from Maryland from several purveyors. Very expensive. I only make crab cakes, or frankly most seafood, when I am on the East Coast. Spoiled.

Thanks for the answers, everyone - and DTBarton, for your general recipe, which I appreciate but haven't quoted here.

Except...now I'm *really* confused. I thought crab meat was one of those things that you had to get from a freshly killed crab - as in, kill it immediately before cooking. Y'all seem to be saying that's not necessary. Please educate me:

* Have I been misinformed about the need to cook crab immediately after killing it? (Be gentle, please!)

* How long can uncooked crab be kept, and how, before it starts to spoil?

* What sort of crab meat is the default when I'm looking at a crab cake recipe? I read things like "lump crab meat" but never specifications of whether it's in a container or freshly-dug from the shell. It appears that everyone in the world knows but me. *blush*

[David Ross]

I use fresh dungeness crab, cooked, then plucked out of the shell.  But I live in the Pacific Northwest and I'm not sure fresh dungeness crabs are available much outside of the West Coast.  A couple of "tricks" I use that I think make my crab cakes very moist--I add thick, homemade mayonnaise, fresh white bread crumbs and fry the crab cakes only in clarified butter.  The dungess is a really rich crab so combined with eggy mayo and fried in pure butter it's pretty decadent.

[gfweb]

I've had this recipe at Perrier's restaurant and made it at home as well. It is bound with a shrimp mousse and  really is very good. Substantial, but still light.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/galette-de-crabe-le-bec-fin-recipe.html

[thatchairlady]

Crab cakes are a bit of a splurge ($$), but when meat is at a good price... I'm making CCs the way my grandmother did.  She'd add some VERY finely diced onion & bell pepper, a little mayo, an egg, and just a little bread crumbs or crushed saltines.  Don't think she EVER had hot sauce in her kitchen, but I like a few good shakes from the bottle in mine.  Shape cakes and stick in fridge to firm up a bit.  Into beaten egg and then seasoned crumbs. Shallow fried in BACON GREASE.  I like homemade cocktail sauce with mine... enough horseradish to make it PINK.

[Jason Perlow]

BTW. Even better than Crab Cakes in my opinion are Conch Cakes. But you need fresh conch, and I think there's only one place in the entire Bahamas that makes it. 

 

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/grand-bahama-beach-food-at-its-best/

[Smithy]

Oh, Jason, I do love conch!  Thanks for that link!

[Paul Bacino]

Made some yesterday..from lump meat about a pound!!

 

Saute a bit of onion and a slight bit of garlic in butter, cool, them add in some whipped youkon gold potaoes, from the other night. Sweet Paprika and a creole seasoning I had , meyo, one egg white only.  Folded in  crab add fresh parsley.  Formed the cakes and let them set.

 

Cooked them on the grill top plancha

 

Awesome-- not dry at all

[dcarch]

I have been disappointed with many crab cake recipes.

 

They all tasted very good, some even tasted great, but they were not much different then fish cakes.

 

 

dcarch

[Okanagancook]

We are getting live crab tomorrow and will have leftover meat for crab cakes.  I understand one wants only just enough fillers (bread crumbs.) to make them hold together. 
 

what is your best crab cake recipe?  Please and thank you.

[gfweb]

This is the one.

 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/galette-de-crabe-le-bec-fin-recipe-1908159

 

I've had it many times at Le Bec Fin, Georges Perrier's monumental and long gone French place in Phila.

 

The key is a shrimp mousse to hold it together.  Just perfect. No bread at all

 

[Okanagancook]

Have you made it?

In the comments section a couple of people had trouble with the amount of liquid in the recipe.

[gfweb]

10 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Have you made it?

In the comments section a couple of people had trouble with the amount of liquid in the recipe.

 Yes. Came out well though its been ages since I made it.  I probably tweaked various things. I'm kind of seat-of -the -pants in the kitchen.

 

Now that you mention it, a pint of cream seems a lot. 

 

IIRC he served it with a delicate mustard cream sauce.

 

I'll check his cookbook (gotta find it) and see if it is the same as the FN  recipe

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by gfweb (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 Yes. Came out well though its been ages since I made it.  I probably tweaked various things. I'm kind of seat-of -the -pants in the kitchen.

 

Now that you mention it, a pint of cream seems a lot. 

 

IIRC he served it with a delicate mustard cream sauce.

 

I'll check his cookbook (gotta find it) and see if it is the same as the FN  recipe

 

 

Link to cookbook?

 

[gfweb]

3 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Link to cookbook?

 

 I only have the hardcover, which is a treasure

Edited February 12, 2022 by gfweb (log)

[gfweb]

Here's the recipe from his book