Meaty, Tender Crab Cakes

Crab cake is right up there on my list of best seafood dishes and I can eat it almost every day. Crab cakes full of plump, sweet, tender crabmeat is a perfect dish for a warm, summer day!

Crabmeat

I like different textures of crab meat in my crab cakes so I use a combination of jumbo lump crab, claw and back fin meat. Jumbo lump crab packs the sweet, meaty punch and I think is a must have for great crab cake. But other meats like claw and back fin also add lots of flavor and texture; small chunks of meat also helps to bind the cakes together.

Instead of trying to find fresh whole crab and pick the meat off myself which is super time consuming for crab cakes, I go for canned crab meat. Using canned crab meat is also less expensive than buying a whole crab. You can buy a large can (16 oz.) of hand picked crab meat for less than $25.00 in grocery stores like Whole Foods. Chicken of the Sea also has 16 oz. cans of crab meat available and you can check the availability and price in local grocery stores and online retailers. Cans labeled “Crab Cake Blend” is the best since it’s usually packed with perfect ratio of jumbo lump crab, claw and back fin meat and is a great value for your money!

Crab Cake Mixture

I don’t like to add lot of fillers to my crab cakes. I find lot of crab cakes in restaurants for example have way too much panko or regular bread crumbs, where you can’t taste the crab meat. You need some bread crumbs to form the mixture together, but you want to make sure it’s about the sweet, tender crab!

To get flavorful crab mixture that won’t fall apart during the cooking process, I use:

• Finely Chopped Onions
• Fresh Dill
• Greek Yogurt (You can use full-fat, non-fat or 2% milk fat)
• Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise
• Whole grain Dion Mustard
• Japanese Panko Breadcrumbs ( 3 tablespoons)

Just three tablespoons of Japanese panko with one tablespoon each of Kewpie mayonnaise and Greek Yogurt will create crab mixture with the right consistency; not too loose and not too hard!. Adding finely chopped onions, Dijon mustard and also fresh dill bring depth of flavor and texture to your cakes! Just remember not to overmix; you don’t want to break apart all the meaty crab pieces.

Pan Fried Crab Cakes

You can deep fry or bake crab cakes, but I opt to pan fry them. Unlike the deep frying method, which can toughen the crab, cooking your cakes in a skillet will maintain its tenderness and it’s also healthier. I also like to use my handy skillet whenever I can for my cooking!

Tips to avoid cracking and disintegration of patties:

• When forming crab mixture into patties, do it gently and don’t press too hard with your fingers.
• After the patties are in the skillet, don’t press down on the cakes with spatula! They will fall apart and you will ruin them.

When your patties are ready to go, add three tablespoons of oil in the skillet and when it’s hot enough, gently place the cakes in the skillet. Cast iron skillet or non-stick skillet will work just fine. Cook until golden brown on each side and fluffy, succulent crab cakes are ready in about 10 minutes. Serve warm golden brown crab cakes with some lemon wedges and or remoulade sauce!

Perfect Dish for a Dinner Party

If you want to impress your friends, include crab cakes on your next dinner party menu as an appetizer or main seafood dish and your guests will not only be impressed, but they will absolutely love you for serving it!

Another great touch for a dinner party is of course tableware! Whenever I invite friends for dinner, I bring out my porcelain restaurant ware so my guests get that feeling like they’re eating in a restaurant. There used to be a fantastic little shop in Newbury street in Boston that specialized in upscale, restaurant ware or hotel china and I bought a fair share of those pieces when I could! The shop is long gone, but these days, there are many online retailers like Replacements, Ebay, and online platform like Etsy that sell fantastic selection of vintage hotel china, including monogrammed vintage silverware.