Crab Cakes For Two (With Leftovers For Lunch)

Crab cakes

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It's that day when all the social media is flooded with pictures of family gatherings. Well, our family is too far apart for a one day get together so there were no big family pictures for us. I did enjoy FaceTime visits with the daughters and granddaughters. Thank goodness for technology.

But we decided to have a celebration for two. There are many ways to make a day special. I finally tried a recipe that I've had printed out for ages. We normally think of crab cakes as a restaurant treat but I thought I'd try making them at home. And while these are not as good as the ones at Pawleys Island Tavern (theirs are THE best,) they were very good. Good enough that I'm posting this recipe here so I won't lose it.

Another big plus for this recipe is that it can be assembled early in the day and refrigerated until it's time to cook and then the cooking is quick. And most of the kitchen clean up was done in the morning.

CRAB CAKES

2 large eggs

1 celery stalk, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1-lb fresh jumbo crabmeat, well drained and picked over

1 cup panko breadcrumbs 

1/4 cup canola oil

In a large bowl, mix eggs, celery, onion, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire and Old Bay until combined well. Fold in crabmeat and panko crumbs. Shape into 12 small patties, about 1/4 cup each, and place on a tray lined with parchment. Cover tray and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. (I think refrigerating most of the day helped the patties stay together.)

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium. Add 6 crab cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side. Move cooked crab cakes to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and put in warming drawer (or oven warmed to 250º and turned off) while the last 6 are cooked. 

Serve immediately with Remoulade (or tartar sauce) and lemon wedges.

I used another crab cake recipe months ago and figured out that for me, it worked better to break up the big solid lumps of crabmeat a little. I know that might be sacrilegious to do that after paying a premium for the lump meat. But that's how I like it. I still leave big pieces, just not huge ones.

After dinner last night I looked up the price of fresh lump crabmeat at Whole Foods. It was $45 per pound. This won't be a meal we have often, but it certainly could be a celebration meal for 6. The price would be comparable to serving steaks. I think these would make an excellent luncheon dish for you and your 5 closest friends. Serve the crab cakes on a nice salad of mixed greens instead of with dinner sides.

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To keep you (and me) from digging back through the recipes here to find the recipe for the remoulade sauce, here it is again.

REMOULADE SAUCE 

1 cup mayonnaise 

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped 

1 tablespoon horseradish sauce 

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (I used German mustard) 

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 

1 teaspoon Texas Pete hot sauce (or to taste) 

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and store in refrigerator.