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Crab Cakes

taryn

By taryn
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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, gfweb said:

https://smile.amazon.com/Georges-Perrier-Bec-fin-Recipes-George/dp/0762401702/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3VFWMI81SUGZY&keywords=georges+perrier+le+bec+fin&qid=1644639348&sprefix=george+perrier+le+bec+fin%2Caps%2C1397&sr=8-1

 

Price has gone up...

 

Indeed, that is more than is in my bank account.  If it's still available when I receive my Social Security check I will seriously consider.  I only dined at Le Bec Fin once but oh so memorable.

 

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted

While that Le Bec-Fin recipe certainly must taste good, I think it hardly qualifies as a good old Maryland-style crab cake. Like this one...

 

IMG_6122.thumb.jpeg.e7921d8916996a773ea95876f2eff0bd.jpeg

 

Mine are similar to this (but I like to add an egg)...

 

 

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Indeed, that is more than is in my bank account.  If it's still available when I receive my Social Security check I will seriously consider.  I only dined at Le Bec Fin once but oh so memorable.

 

 

Its $20 on ebay

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Oh shit, I just realized - Jacques stole the avocado idea from me!!

Ha! Crab and avocado are a great combo. In the early days of Eleven Madison, just after the conversion from a bistro, (and long before the prices rose into the stratosphere) they did an awesome crab rolled in a tube of avocado. I think there's a YouTube video showing Humm making it.

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liamsaunt

liamsaunt

Posted
Posted

I like to keep my crab cakes really simple.  Instead of using a shrimp mousse as a binder, I make the cakes in the morning and then leave them in the fridge all day to firm up.  They are still quite delicate when I cook them, but they do stay together.  I use as little binder as possible, and barely dust the cakes with flour before pan frying them.  I also use a 50-50 mix of canola oil and butter to cook them.

 

Here is a simple recipe from Jasper White's Summer Shack Cookbook that is one of my go to recipes when I want a traditional style crab cake. (I hope it is OK to post these images here, but please delete if not).  I usually make a lemon-dill aioli to serve with them, but the English mustard sauce Jasper suggests here is also good.

 

 

IMG_9756.thumb.jpg.393d58e86bbb7e20b8f90dc584d47821.jpg

 

IMG_9757.thumb.jpg.f87924a9ad0c4b9b8792a4229e2365a5.jpg

 

 

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Here is a simple recipe from Jasper White's Summer Shack Cookbook that is one of my go to recipes when I want a traditional style crab cake. (I hope it is OK to post these images here, but please delete if not).

 

Pretty close to the crab cake I made above.  But as Jacques suggests, I think fresh bread crumbs work better than dried ones.  And since I've recently received a bunch of nice herbs and spices from Burlap & Barrel, I leave out the old bay and work some good dried spices in instead.  Thrown together in the morning, as you suggest, and cooked later in the day.

 

Not that it matters, but I've always likes Jasper's restaurants. And Faidley's rocks...or at least did.

(Latest prices on jumbo lump are inspiring - $65 a pound for me! They're a treat, that means.)

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Okanagancook

Okanagancook

Posted
Posted

Well, thank you all for responding with such a plethora of crab cake ideas.  Also some excellent sauce suggestions which I had not thought of.  The shrimp/cream binder idea cooked in a ring mould is interesting.  Definitely over the top.   The cakes I have made in the past need some jazzing up after looking at these recipes.  I think we had the avocado wrapped crab at a cooking competition a few years ago…it was spectacular.

Thanks again.🥰

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Pretty close to the crab cake I made above.  But as Jacques suggests, I think fresh bread crumbs work better than dried ones.  And since I've recently received a bunch of nice herbs and spices from Burlap & Barrel, I leave out the old bay and work some good dried spices in instead.  Thrown together in the morning, as you suggest, and cooked later in the day.

 

Not that it matters, but I've always likes Jasper's restaurants. And Faidley's rocks...or at least did.

(Latest prices on jumbo lump are inspiring - $65 a pound for me! They're a treat, that means.)

My guide for crab cakes is this: use almost nothing but crab. Bind with the least possible amount of stuff you can get away with, the plainer the better. Crab, a touch of mayo, scallions and minimal amount of bread crumbs. Not a fan of Old Bay.

 

Also not that it matters,  I grew up on Manhattan clam chowder. Recipes for chowder are heavily stacked in favor of New England style, but Jasper White has a great recipe for Manhattan.  

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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

Posted
Posted

I have a couple of recipes that I go to.  This one is bare bones Eastern Shore almost nothing but crab.  It's delicious.  This one is a little more refined and has more ingredients.  I was raised going to the Eastern Shore and Baltimore and I love Old Bay.  The smell and flavor tell me I'm about to have one of the best meals of my life.  I don't mind adding a pinch to crabcakes, but I wouldn't overdo it.  I think you could make any of the suggested recipes and have great crabcakes.  I agree with @liamsaunt - make them ahead of time and let them firm up in the fridge.  Saltine or soda crackers are the traditional 'binder' and don't let anyone talk you into adding bell peppers or onions in your crabcakes!  They just don't belong.  

 

If you are looking for something to use up crabmeat and want something a little different than cakes, you might want to try this elegant and sublime small plate.  

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Kim

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

Saltine or soda crackers are the traditional 'binder'

 

This is the binder I generally use (I did want to try the fresh bread crumbs, and they worked well).

 

We had very good friends who for years lived in Arnold; our visits there always meant a dinner at Cantler's. (And maybe even a stop at one of the places on Kent Island on the drive home!)

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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

This is the binder I generally use (I did want to try the fresh bread crumbs, and they worked well).

 

We had very good friends who for years lived in Arnold; our visits there always meant a dinner at Cantler's. (And maybe even a stop at one of the places on Kent Island on the drive home!)

My parents lived in Edgewater - about 20 minutes away from Cantler's - when I was in college.  I remember going there with them.  We were crazy for crabs and they loved living in the middle of crab country!  When I was in HS, we had a little place on Chincoteague Island and on Friday nights, Momma and I knew we'd won when @Ted Fairhead turned into the parking lot of Fisherman's Inn at Kent Narrows.  I remember it as a shack when I was a little girl, but by the time I was in HS, it was "fancy" and my traditional order was crab-stuffed jumbo shrimp with a Creme de Menthe parfait for dessert - ultimate swank!  😁

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Okanagancook

Okanagancook

Posted
Posted


image.thumb.jpeg.778712ace321782f4a603cf8e7f14b9f.jpeg

Here they are.  We only had 8 oz or 213 grams of crab left after we pigged out on the freshly cooked ones.  
This what I did.

213 g crab

2 chopped scallions…they were small

1/2 beaten egg…30 g

2 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

1 tablespoon fine toasted bread crumbs

1 teaspoon Old Bay

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and pepper.

 

They were 81 grams each…four of them.  Just enough bread crumbs to bind them.  I put some panko crumbs on the outside before frying them gently in butter.

 

Served with a dip of mayo, sour cream, chipotle, cilantro and lime juice.  Rested in the fridge before frying.

 

Thank you all…this combo is a keeper for us.

 

 

 

 

image.jpeg

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
On 2/12/2022 at 7:06 AM, weinoo said:

Oh shit, I just realized - Jacques stole the avocado idea from me!!

 

And Jacques penned the forward for Georges Perrier's recipe collection.  I can't speak for the Le Bec-fin crab cakes,* however unlike Jacques' ice cream, the ice cream I enjoyed at Le Bec-fin was not served in heated little metal cups.

 

 

*though the Le Bec-fin fish course was exquisite.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, mgaretz said:

Mine is very simple:  Crab, panko, mayo and Old Bay Seasoning.  Can be baked or fried.

 

You probably use different crab, however.

 

On 2/13/2022 at 9:20 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Just source good crab, some minced scallion and tiny amount of celery,

 

Just as lettuce does not belong on a lobster roll, celery has no place in a crab cake.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

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Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

Posted
Posted
On 2/13/2022 at 3:23 PM, Okanagancook said:


image.thumb.jpeg.778712ace321782f4a603cf8e7f14b9f.jpeg

Here they are.  We only had 8 oz or 213 grams of crab left after we pigged out on the freshly cooked ones.  
This what I did.

213 g crab

2 chopped scallions…they were small

1/2 beaten egg…30 g

2 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

1 tablespoon fine toasted bread crumbs

1 teaspoon Old Bay

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt and pepper.

 

They were 81 grams each…four of them.  Just enough bread crumbs to bind them.  I put some panko crumbs on the outside before frying them gently in butter.

 

Served with a dip of mayo, sour cream, chipotle, cilantro and lime juice.  Rested in the fridge before frying.

 

Thank you all…this combo is a keeper for us.

 

 

 

 

image.jpeg

These look great!  I'm glad you found a combination you like!  Bravo!

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Kim

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  • 11 months later...
billyhill

billyhill

Posted
Posted (edited)

"Youth is wasted on the young"

 

I grew up in south Florida. One of may dad's friends was a commercial crabber. When he went on vacation, he would ask my dad how many traps he wanted left in the water and we would run then till he returned. I wish I appreciated crab more when I was young. We used to have 35 gallon bags of crabs in freezer. I did not appreciate what I had then.

Edited by billyhill
Correction (log)
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billyhill

billyhill

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Posted

The Matlacha oyster house had amazing crab cakes back in the day. Held together by nothing more than the will of the chef and a merciful God. Had to be at least 6 oz of crab. I was so poor but would lay out $7+tip of late 80's money  for 1 crab cake and a glass of water when passing through. Time plays tricks on us but I have a hard time imaging a better food moment.

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AlaMoi

AlaMoi

Posted
Posted

absolutely on the less is more side....

I've tried so many recipes with mayo-and-beyond.... it's ridiculous.

 

I use lump crab meat - for two,,, one pound  - I separate about 1/2 of that for chopping and dicing.

the variation of "chunk size" is in my experience very important for "holding" the crab cake together.

all big chunks - they fall apart....

 

using one beaten egg per pound - salt+pepper+Old Bay

formed in a ring, looks like  (with pimento...):

IMG_0095.thumb.JPG.7feaba7f89a10a4fdb2767294d74c72f.JPG

IMG_0866.JPG

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