Sunday, September 28, 2008

Hello Heaven


I have been toying with making crab cakes for some time but was somewhat intimidated by the little critters. I have heard horror stories of people spending a lot of money on fresh lump crab only to have thier little cakes fall apart and quickly turn to hash! This recipe from Paula Deen came highly rated on the food network site and it turned out very good. The key was the making them ahead of time and then giving them some time to chill and get firm before pan frying. I did not have any trouble at all wtih them falling apart. They appear light but in reality they are pretty rich. We sampled some today after the Chiefs game (win!) and we had a hard time finishing one each!
The sauce is really good too. Its garlicy, lemony and the perfect freshness to go with the dense crab cake. I will definately making these again and I think they would be great in mini form for appetizers!
Enjoy!

Lemon Dill Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
Crab Cakes:
3 tablespoons butter
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
Cayenne pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 pound white or claw crabmeat, picked free of any bits of shell
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled. The sauce will thicken as it chills.

To prepare the crab cakes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the pepper is limp, approximately 3 minutes. Add the cream, mustard, 1 egg, parsley, cayenne pepper and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, to taste, and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.

Form the mixture into 8 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with the Parmesan. Pat this topping onto both sides of the patties. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Using a skillet, combine the oil and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Saute the crab cakes in the hot oil-butter mixture for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. These crab cakes can also be baked for 7 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.

To serve, spoon a dollop of the lemon dill sauce along side each crab cake.

3 comments:

JM said...

These look like heaven. I'm going to give them a try soon. M

Anonymous said...

delish! where did you buy the crab meat? I've been wanting to make them forever but don't know where to get good crab.

whitneyingram said...

I have had this recipe in my "To Make and Devour" file for years. I am glad to see that someone has made them and they worked out well. Thanks for the post!