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Ok.. making a crab cake tonight. Advice?

2K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  yolanda cannon 
#1 ·
I've got a big pack of red rock crab clusters. I am going to pick them and get the meat separated. I bought eggs, a red bell, and a shallot. I've got some basil in the garden along with garlic chives.. bread crumbs.. garlic.

Any advice? I have a little leftover cream, should I add that to breadcrumbs and an egg to handle the binder? I want it to be 85% crab.. I'd like to get the binding nice and wet but solid.. then a quick dip in the crumbs.. and onto the skillet for a seriously crunchy exterior.

I suppose I really need to look at the amount of crab and moisture before making any big moves.
 
#2 ·
i use to live in annapolis maryland and learned to make my crabcakes there... per 1 lb i use 1 egg, and just enough mayo to bind it. parsley, small diced red or yellow pepper( not green), and old bay seasoning...that's it...no basil, no cream...form your cakes and pat in cracker crums(saltines), not bread crumbs. if you don't have cracker crumbs, use panko. after forming the patties let them sit in your fridge for an hour or two or three to 'form', then fry to that beautiful golden brown...lemon wedges are essential as well as a really good sauce....what kind of sauce are you making?okay, now i want some and i just happen to have a lb in my fridge..yeah,goody goody...

joey
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the suggestions Joey. I can throw some saltines in my mini food processor. I don't have a lb of crab meat picked and I have a new appreciation for those that do pick the stuff. At one point I had to throw on a latex glove because I had slit my thumb right at the joint cracking the shells. Still the meat I have, I don't think any pre-packaged product can match and since I got a good deal seemed the right thing to do.

So I will go no cream, no basil, but I will deff use the shallot. With a fine dice of red bell. For the sauce, I'll have a spicy mayo aka remoulade. Hope yours turned out well if you made them.
 
#4 · (Edited)
You can do this a few ways..

Breadcrumbs, aromatics, oil, and egg yolk.

Riced potatoes, and aromatics, and egg yolk.

Chilled risotto, and egg yolk

(herbs and spices considered aromatics in this case)

i personally love the potato option. If you're not using the breadcrumbs as the base, i still use them to help make a crispy exterior.  Form your cakes, and let them chill and set up for at least an hour.  Reserving the whites from those eggs you needed to crack open for yolks, just lightly coat your cakes, and roll them in seasoned bread crumbs.  Bread crumbs with paprika make for very nice color. If you want a high percentage of meat, make sure it isn't too chunky. I've seen crab cakes refuse to bind, not necessarily because there's too much meat, but the chunks are waaay too heavy for the base to hold together.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Eastshore  try this

LUMP CRAB MEAT PICKED OR YOUR CRAB MEAT TYPE

1,/2 PEPPER, 3 STALKS CELERY, 2 SHALLOTS HINT OF GARLIC ALL CHOPPED FINE AND THEN LIGHTLY SAUTEED.

GRIND SALTINES  OR  USE JAPANESE PANKO BREAD CRUMBS

1 WHOLE EGG BEATEN,ABOUT 3/4 CUP TO A CUP GOOD MAYO

OLD BAY SEASONING TO TASTE

DIJON MUSTARD,TABASSCO, WORSTISHIRE

HOLD BACK CRUMBS BUT TOSS EVERYTHING ELSE TOGETHER IN LARGE SS BOWL

ADD CRUMBS TO DESIRED CONSISTANCY THEN REFRIGERATE A WHILE  DO NOT OVER TOSS AS YOU DO NOT WANT TO BREAK UP THE CRABMEAT

FORM INTO CAKES AND EITHER PRESS INTO  PANKO BREAD CRUMB OR LEAVE PLAIN REFRIG TILL FIRM

SAUTE TILL GOLDEN BROWN OR CAN BE BROILED

TRY NOT TO USE DRY STORE BOUGHT CRUMBS OR ITALIAN SEASONED CRUMBS

WORSE COMES TO WORSE GRIND YOUR OWN WHITE BREAD.
 
#6 ·
EASTSHORE

Remolaude is good, Sauce Nantua , lemon cream sauce, newburg sauce, mustard cream sauce  all are good  GOOD LUCK

They can be individually wrapped and frozen for future after cooking.
 
#7 ·
Surprised nobody has mentioned that no matter what other ingredients you use the crab should go in last. That way you can gently incorporate it, without breaking up the pieces.

In Maryland---the undisputed homeland of crab cakes---quality is determined by the amount of filler (i.e., breadcrumbs). The less filler the better the cake is considered to be.

And, as Joey points out, pre-chilling the formed patties is essential to good results.

I have a new appreciation for those that do pick the stuff.

Had to chuckle over this, Eastshores.

A few years back, while one of our annual fishing/crabbing trips to the Outer Banks, Friend Wife discovered that she actually enjoys picking crab. No kidding. She's probably the only person I know who feels that way. So now, we both catch 'em. I steam 'em, and then go fishing. When I return there's a big pile of fresh crabmeat waiting.

Hard to beat that.
 
#8 ·
KY I added the crab last. I actually followed a lot of the suggestions in this thread. I whipped 1 egg with mayo.. then incorporated some finely crushed saltine crackers.. sauteed off a fine dice of red bell and shallot.. let it cool and incorporated that. S&P then added the crab. I crushed some saltines into my little spice grinder and hit them a bit, and laid the crumb out on a plate. Formed the cakes and coated both sides in the crumb. They are currently in the freezer getting a good chill. I will post up a pic after they are cooked.

Regarding your friends wife the "picker" .. keep that friend haha.
 
#9 ·
eastshores,

i had to work last night so i just made my crabcakes this morning...they are in the fridge firming up. while there are many, many, many ways to make crabcakes, i do them the way the oldtimers in annapolis taught me...no fillers! they are crabcakes, not crabrice cakes or crabbreadcrumb cakes. personally i don't saute the peppers as i like the texture and slight crunch factor of the raw peppers. i usually do a few sauces to go with...a spicy chipotle cocktail sauce with crema, a more traditional tartar sauce, and a chile lime sauce...got some corn on the cob that i will grill up with some hatch green chile butter, got some shrimp cocktail and some beautiful vine ripe tomatoes.....oh yeah, and prosecco..am looking forward to all this simple perfection....enjoy yours as well...cheers!

joey
 
#11 ·
yo! you did good homeboy.....now i'm more excited that ever for dinner...seriously nice job... they are really, really, really beautiful...maybe even perfect...i do mine a bit bigger cuz i'm a piggy when it comes to seafood.....thanks for the pic

joey
 
#12 ·
Lookin' good, Eastshores!

'Course, I could do without all that garden truck myself. But each to his own. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/drinkbeer.gif

keep that friend haha.

Well, we're in the 46th year of a trial marraige and are starting to think it's going to work out. So, yeah, I reckon I'll keep her.
 
#13 ·
Joey, thank you man.. very kind words. Enjoy your dinner, sounds like it will be epic.

KY: You know as well as I that the bib lettuce is for show. Although I must admit, when dressed simply it does make a nice side nibble.

Congrats on the trial marriage.. I'm inclined to agree.. you probably have a good shot at it!
 
#14 ·
Look good . Try making flatter and they will brown evenly, move around in pan as center of pan will usually be the hottest;  They make great sliders. yum, yum. and you can make mini for Hors D Ourves.
 
#18 ·
It's funny, but I used to use a regular ring mold, but I find now that using the measurement thing is less work. I guess it's only important that we all enjoy a good crab cake. 
 
#19 ·
I sometime use scoops of different sizes then I press into panko. You can also use a jar lid.
 
#20 ·
Like Ed, I use scoops, then shape the cakes in my hands, just like making burgers. There is no significant difference in size.

Dishers (spring-driven scoops) are a great way to assure consistency in many food products. I have a range of them (they come in 40 different sizes, btw) and use them often for portion- and size-control.
 
#22 ·
unless you are making hundreds of them i can't imagine why you would use anything else but your hands! using anything but your hands takes the fun out of it, to me...like making meatballs...i like the feeling of rolling the cold meat around my palms making perfect or imperfect sized meatballs....who says they gotta be perfect anyway and why would it matter that they all look uniform?..as a matter of fact i like the irregularity of hand formed crabcakes and meatballs, and pancakes too for that matter....go figure!

joey
 
#23 ·
At work we didn't make hundreds, we made thousands .I even had an electric machine like a hamburger machine that made meatballs. Also an imported machine likeextruder that made franks in blankets. About  160 a minute.  Home I use scoops for size consistancy and then press them down  . The less I have to use my hands the better.
 
#24 ·
Hi I'm new here, so hopefully I'm asking my question in the correct space. My question is: does anyone know/have a easy way/remedy for removing the extra small shells from a container of lump crab meat(16oz). I try to pick through it but still seem to end up with little shells here and there in my crab cakes. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
#25 ·
Yolanda, I know of no easy way to remove small bit's of shell from crabmeat.

My only suggestion is to use a different source in the future or pick your own.

I like this old thread and thanks for reviving it.

Crabs are abundant on the Chesapeake this year.

Much more pricey then in my youth but I'm an old curmudgeon and fugal Can you say cheap so what do I know.

I can only agree with the posts that say less is better.

Crab is king in a good crab cake and anything that takes away from the crab is unwanted.

Use the minimum of fillers and flavorings.

Use only enough filler to bind the cake together.

Any flavor beyond the crab itself should be added later in a sauce or dip of some sort.

Now I said Crab is King.

I'm not talking King Crab. I'm sure the prep is different.

All I know growing up on the shores of the Chesapeake is the blue crabs we find to be the best in the world.

Personally I prefer sitting down to a pile of steamed crabs over crab cakes but if I do have crab cakes I want the cake to hold together but won't mind if it's held together loosely.

Let the consumers choose the spices/flavorings they want.
 
#26 ·
Yolanda, I know of no easy way to remove small bit's of shell from crabmeat.

My only suggestion is to use a different source in the future or pick your own.

I like this old thread and thanks for reviving it.

Crabs are abundant on the Chesapeake this year.
Much more pricey then in my youth but I'm an old curmudgeon and fugal Can you say cheap so what do I know.

I can only agree with the posts that say less is better.
Crab is king in a good crab cake and anything that takes away from the crab is unwanted.
Use the minimum of fillers and flavorings.
Use only enough filler to bind the cake together.
Any flavor beyond the crab itself should be added later in a sauce or dip of some sort.

Now I said Crab is King.
I'm not talking King Crab. I'm sure the prep is different.

All I know growing up on the shores of the Chesapeake is the blue crabs we find to be the best in the world.

Personally I prefer sitting down to a pile of steamed crabs over crab cakes but if I do have crab cakes I want the cake to hold together but won't mind if it's held together loosely.

Let the consumers choose the spices/flavorings they want.
 
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