Susan and I have always loved crab cakes – we’ve even tried to make them once or twice. But now we live in the Dungeness crab capitol of the world – holy cow are there some seriously tasty crab cakes in the local joints around here, and we’ve been trying them all. Even the “worst” crab cake we’ve eaten out here is still the best we ever had before we moved to Oregon.
So obviously, it was time to step it up a notch. With some help from JT (proprietor of Coast & Vine), we learned how to open up and clean a fresh steamed whole Dungeness crab. One crab gets you about 6oz of meat and the crab we pulled out of that seaweed encrusted shell was the freshest we’ve ever had. These crab cakes are seriously awesome. Are they the best we’ve ever had? Not yet, but they are close. We still have a bit of tweaking to do – but they are seriously awesome!
Ingredients:
- 6 oz of cooked Dungeness crab meat (1 crab, cleaned)
- 1/3 C panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 C mayonnaise
- 1 T chopped chives
- 1 t dijon mustard
- 1/2 t Old Bay seasoning
- 1 t worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, plus several wedges for serving
Sauce:
- 1/4 C mayonnaise
- 2 T chopped dill pickles (about one wedge)
- 1 T capers, chopped
- 1 T minced chives
- Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
This recipe makes 3-4 good-sized crab cakes – a perfect appetizer for two!
For the sauce, mix everything up in a small bowl and stick it in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld.
For the cakes, first, gently shred the cleaned crab with your hands, and then add the other ingredients and gently fold together. Once mixed, stick back in the fridge for 10-20 minutes for the panko to absorb some of the liquid.
Pull it back out and make several like-size balls of the crab mixture. Gently push into a patty shape that’s about 3/4 to one inch thick. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat and add in about 1 T EVOO and 1 T butter. When it starts to bubble, add the cakes to the pan.
Cook for about 4-5 minutes on one side, until crispy and golden brown. Using a fish spatula, gently flip and cook on the other side.
Serve on a plate with the dipping sauce (we use a little spoon to dollop it on the cakes) and a couple of lemon wedges. Prepare to be amazed!