What Type Of Crab Meat Is Best For Crab Cakes
Chesapeake Bay in Maryland is known for their blue crabs. Blue crab meat has a delicate flavor and a fresh buttery taste. If you live on the west coast, you are probably familiar with Dungeness crabs which are much larger and also delicious. Both varieties can be used when making crabcakes.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing the best crab meat to make homemade crab cakes.
- Purchase crab labeled hand picked or fresh picked which means that the meat has been picked through for shells and cartilage. Even when getting this type of crab meat, its good practice to double check for remnants by running your fingers gently through the meat. Sometimes, the packers miss small pieces of shell.
- Unless you go crabbing or purchase whole crabs, you are most likely to purchase canned crab meat. This meat is already cooked and ready to eat.
- Stay away from shelf stable canned crab. Instead, buy refrigerated canned crab meat. They are usually in the seafood area of the supermarket packed in 1 pound tubs. This product is extremely fresh and of good quality.
- Jumbo lump crab meat has the biggest chunks of meat, but its expensive. The next best option is lump crab meat which also has big chunks and makes amazing meaty and juicy crabcakes.
What Type Of Crab Meat Should I Use For Crab Cakes
There are three main types of crab meat: lump meat, back fin meat and claw meat. For the best crab cakes, you are going to want to use the best fresh lump crab meat. It comes from the body of the crab and therefore is the largest pieces of crab meat.
If you are in the Mid-Atlantic States, look for blue crab, whose native habitat includes the Chesapeake Bay and is generally considered to be the best tasting and favorite choice for Crab Cakes.
You can likely purchase crab meat at the seafood counter of your grocery store or specialty seafood markets or specially stores such as Whole Foods. When buying crab meat, look for packages labeled, jumbo lump or petite jumbo lump, this will ensure you get the largest pieces of crab meat.
Crispy Crab Cakes With The Best Crab Cake Sauce Are Restaurant Delicious Made Right At Home
If you have never made Crab Cakes before, you are going to be delighted and shocked at just how easy they are to make at home! These extra Crispy Crab Cakes are golden crispy on the outside, light, juicy, flavor packed on the inside. This easy homemade Crab Cakes recipe is made with lump crab meat, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, green onions and hand picked seasonings. They can be served as a snack, appetizer or we love them as a main dish. Ive also included instructions on how to freeze crab cake cakes for a no stress snack, appetizer or dinner!
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Crab Cakes With Chipotle Aioli
These Crab Cakes with Chipotle Aioli get the stamp of approval from my family and friends. Crab cakes are an American seafood staple, particularly Maryland, that are made with fresh lump crab meat, panko crumbs, and vegetables. You can either bake or fry them.
My friend Christina is from Maryland and every time we would come visit, her mom would make us a crab boil that was incredibly delicious. Not only that, she would then use any leftover crabs and take out the meat to make crab cakes the very next day. It was such a treat.
The key is to use fresh lump crabmeat and go light on the filler. These crab cakes are full of flavor and are served with a delicious chipotle
What to pair these Crab cakes with Chipotle Aioli with:
- WHITE BEAN AND ARUGULA SALAD
- TOMATO SOUP WITH SUNDRIED TOMATO PESTO
Make the chipotle sauce. In a blender or food processor, add the egg yolk, lime juice, garlic, vegetable oil, chipotle chilies and salt. Blend until smooth
Prepare crab cakes. Combine the bell pepper, chives, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, chili powder, pepper, crabmeat, panko crumbs, olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon. Divide the crab mixture and shape into a ball, the size of a ping pong ball. With your fingers, shape into crab cakes. Place on a plate and repeat with the rest.
If you would rather bake in the oven, do so at 450°F for 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges.
Crab Cakes With Chipotle Aioli
- Prep time: 15 MinutesCook time: 15 MinutesTotal time: 30 min
Crab Cakes With Sherry Aioli Sauce
Be the first to leave a review!This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com.
In July of 1997, while helping a friend prepare for a dinner party, I was introduced to this recipe for crab cakes. It has remained a constant in my recipe collection ever since. I have never found a better recipe or tasted a better crab cake. My husband is an Annapolis grad so, having spent many days eating Maryland crab cakes, I think he is a good judge.
Some recipes just do not need to be improved on. This recipe originally appeared in The Best of Food and Wine in 1992 before the popularity of blogs and the flood of internet recipes. Before the days of screenshots or easy printing, I copied the recipe into my journal and have been using it ever since. The stained smudged pages attest to its use.
For those of you who look away if a recipe has over five ingredients, this one might be a shocker at 19 ingredients and 7 more for the sauce. ITS WORTH IT! So is the Aioli sauce. I often make a double batch and freeze half by wrapping each individually. They thaw and cook beautifully. What a treat it is on a weekday to have a salad and delicious crab cake for dinner.
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Can You Bake Crab Cakes
Yes, you can bake Crab Cakes, but dont expect them to be as crispy as fried.
Best Crab Cakes Recipe
I have long been a lover of Crab Cakes. I think its a texture thing. The crispiness giving way to juicy crab meat. so so good. Until recently, however, I never thought much about making my own at home. That is until I had the best crab cakes of my life in Kauai at Keokis Paradise. They were served with fresh corn salsa and a Tomatillo Aoili. I could have eaten them for days. Breakast, lunch, dinner. Repeat. And now we can all eat the next best thing these homemade Crab Cakes with Tomatillo Aoili!
This easy Crab Cakes recipe tastes luxuriously delicious but is actually super simple to make at home. The Crab Cakes are full of juicy crab meat, seasonings and fresh flavors from the lemon juice and scallions. The cakes are also formed ahead of time and refrigerated so you can fry them up in minutes when youre ready to serve making them the perfect deceptively easy recipe to impress your guests.
These easy Crab Cakes are also extra crispy due to the use of panko and not just flour. If you arent familiar with panko, it is a Japanese breadcrumb that is light and airy and delivers tantalizing crispy results. It can be found next the Italian breadcrumbs at your grocery store and helps makes these the Best Crab Cakes!
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How To Make Crab Cakes
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg, mayonnaise, parsley, scallions, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice and salt
- Add the crab meat and sprinkle with the cracker crumbs. Gently, mix the ingredients together.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Portion about ½ cup of crab meat mixture into 6 mounds on the baking sheet. With your hands or with the help of a spoon, compact each individual mound without flattening them. Be gentle.
- Brush each cake with the melted butter.
- Bake for 12 -16 minutes or until lightly brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and serve with lemon aioli and lemon wedges.
To Make The Lemon Aioli, simply combine all the aioli ingredients.
Is It Better To Bake Or Fry Crab Cakes?
I prefer baking the crab cakes. Baking is healthier than frying and easier also. Baked crab cakes have a nice and crispy golden brown exterior without the added calories. Baking also requires less cleaning and no grease splatter!
How Do You Keep The Crab Cakes From Falling Apart?
To prevent the cakes from falling apart, its important to refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes before cooking them.
Cilantro And Lime Dip
Okay so now its time to veer away from the mayo-based dips. This cilantro and lime dip has a base of sour cream.
This dip is a great foil to a spicy crab cake and really brightens the palate.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1/3 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of lime juice
- 1 small hot pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Combine all of these ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together. For a nice garnish, add a couple pieces of chopped cilantro on top of the sauce!
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Crab Cakes With Smoky Tomato Aioli
Serves
4Crab Cakes with Smoky Tomato AioliServes 4
Prep Mins
2020 Mins30 Mins50 Mins
Total Mins
For the smoky tomato aioli:
- ¼ cup Angel Sweet® Tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika
For the crab cakes:
- 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
- ½ tsp. hot sauce
- 2 Tbsp. neutral oil, or more as needed
- 1 lb. lump crab meat
- 1 SUNSET® Organic Bell Pepper, finely diced
- 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
- 12 saltine crackers, finely crushed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
What Kind Of Sauce Goes With Crab Cakes
Crab Cakes are can be served with a variety sauces from tartar sauce, horseradish aoili, curry mayonnaise but my favorite is Creamy Tomatillo Jalapeno Aioli. It is a flavorful sauce that takes just a couple minutes to make and lick the blender delicious!
Creamy Tomatillo Jalapeno Aioli
- 1 medium tomatillo, husks removed, roughly chopped
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded, deveined, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2-3 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Add all of the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve then taste and add additional lime juice to taste.
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What Is Piquillo Pepper
A piquillo pepper is a small, sweet pepper that has no heat. Popular in Spain, you can find them peeled and marinated in jars here in the states. They are milder than roasted red bells, and as I said, they have no heat. Just really nice pepper flavor, almost like pimento. You could use roasted red bells in its place but the flavor won’t be as mild.
The Making Of Crab Cakes With Piquillo Pepper Aioli
Fresh is always best. And for me, the best of the best is Dungeness crab. But Dungeness Crab is seasonal, so when not in season, high-quality canned crab meat to the rescue.
When buying canned crab, be sure to buy a good quality crab from the refrigerated section of your supermarket, not the crap crab they sell on the shelves..
It was another, “I don’t feel like going to the grocery store, what’s in the pantry” type of day. So I looked in the refrigerator and thought, I’d make some delicious Crab Cakes with Piquillo Pepper Aioli with some canned lump-meat crab I had in the fridge.
So crabby good.
If you don’t happen to have a can of quality crab in your refrigerator, then go to the store, get some and make these. When buying canned crab, be sure to buy a good quality crab from the refrigerated section of your supermarket, not the crap crab they sell on the shelves.
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Crab Cakes With Jalapeo Aioli
- 1jalapeño or serrano chileseeded and finely chopped, or to taste
- 2teaspoonsfreshly squeezed lime juice
- 2teaspoonschopped fresh cilantroleaves and upper part of stems
- 3tablespoonsbreadcrumbs
- 1/2teaspoonkosher or coarse sea saltor to taste
- 1/4teaspoonfreshly ground black pepperor to taste
- 1poundjumbo lump crab meatcartilage removed and meat broken into smaller pieces with your hands
- 1tablespoonbutter
- 1jalapeño or serrano chileseeded optional, or to taste
- 1tablespoonfreshly squeezed lime juice
- 1cupmayonnaisestore bought or homemade
- 1/4cupcilantro leaves
- 1/4teaspoonkosher or coarse sea saltor to taste
- freshly ground black pepperto taste
For garnish:
- 1tablespoonfreshly squeezed lime juice
- 2tablespoonsolive oil
- kosher or coarse sea saltto taste
- freshly ground black pepperto taste
How Do I Pan Fry Crab Cakes
You will need a nonstick skillet and either peanut or vegetable oil to pan fry your Crab Cakes.
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Can I Use Canned Crab Meat For Crab Cakes
Fresh crab meat is obviously best, but for a more economical version, you can also purchase cans of lump crab meat. I know this is blasphemy to many, but canned lump crab meat can still produce delicious Crab Cakes.
So if you are working with a budget, or you want to make Crab Cakes more often, or just want to experiment and try them once before splurging on fresh crab meat, then try canned crab meat and then when $$ or time allows, try the fresh stuff. I just dont want the price of fresh crab meat to keep you from making these delectable morsels.
If using canned lump crab meat, be sure to drain your cans thoroughly of excess moisture and be extremely careful not to break it up too much while mixing or forming your cakes.
What Is A Crab Cake
Have you ever had the pleasure of sinking your teeth into a decadent yet delicate Crab Cake before? It is one of the most tantalizing bites of. your. life. A crab cake is a type of fishcake made with lump crab meat, mayonnaise, eggs, mustard, breadcrumbs, and seasonings that is mixed together then sauteed, baked, or fried to create a deeply golden crispy exterior giving way to luscious, creamy crab meat interior.
Crab Cakes are extremely popular in the Untied States, especially along the coast of the Mid-Atlantic States where blue crab is popular but you can find Crab Cakes in restaurants around the world and now make your own juicy, delicate, golden Crab Cakes at home!
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Making The Crab Cakes
When mixing the crab cake ingredients, use a light hand so as not to break all of the chunks of crab up. You want some nice large crabby pieces. After forming and coating with panko , I put them on a sheet pan with a wire rack and refrigerate them for about an hour. This allows all the ingredients in the crab cake to firm up making them easier to cook and flip.
When cooking the crab cake, let them fully brown on one side then carefully turn and brown the other side. Do not turn them more than once or you stand a chance of having crab cake scramble.
How To Freeze Baked Crab Cakes
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How To Make Crab Cakes With Lemon Aioli
