...first week that I worked in a kitchen in a restaurant, they had me taking 6#
of special crabmeat and 4# of lump crabmeat, picking through it CAREFULLY and
making a big 'ol batch of Baltimore style crabcakes. They were VERY tasty and we
sold a ton of them. Yet there was something missing, I thought, so by the second
week, I made a suggestion about adding 1 other ingredient to improve the recipe.
They looked at me funny. I mean this wasn't some Mom and Pop joint, this
restaurant was run by an entire family, headed by a very sharp Mother and a
father who was a C.E.C., had been president of the Richmond, VA ACF Chef's Assn.
and (previously) chef of the year. I suggested a small test comparison. They
were open-minded and gracious enough to give it a try and decided to add my
extra ingredient to that recipe.
To the first person who guesses which ingredient in the following recipe was my idea, I will e-mail you my spicy! southwestern crabcake recipe! But with all I will share the all-time best way of cooking the crabcakes.
Some important notes about crabmeat:
Generally speaking, the asian stuff is trash - avoid it unless you know it well. If you can't afford good crabmeat, start saving up.
On the east coast, particularly around the Chesapeake Bay, wintertime crabmeat is dredged, sandy, lots of flake and low quality. Go ahead and enjoy oysters at this time of year.
Crabmeat is very expensive. Pick through it very careful for shell/flake - leave it as intact as possible!
Add it LAST to the recipe and DO NOT turn those chunks of meat into threads of unidentifiable...stuff.
Use a rubber spatula, if you want, to gently fold the meat into all of the previously mixed ingredients.
The crabmeat should have a naturally faint, sweet aroma and flavor - it should also be moist. Avoid sour- or ammonia-smelling crabmeat and likewise eschew dry and tasteless stuff. Frozen crabmeat may or may not travel well; some of it is okay and none of it is great.
Make up and form the crabcakes a day in advance. They benefit from cooling and setting up overnight and are easier to handle, cook and turn.
Deep-frying good crabcakes is a travesty. Period. so is cooking a steak well done, you rednecks!
BALTIMORE STYLE CRABCAKES - WITH FOND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE PIERCE FAMILY
makes 8 cakes, serve 2 per person at dinner, 1 per person at lunch.
15 to 25 minutes before you begin to cook the crabcakes, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
TO PREP:
Add to medium-large stainless steel bowl:
2 eggs 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup dijon mustard (gulden's is ok) 2/5 sleeve well-crushed saltines
2 tsp minced garlic 1/2 green bell pepper, small dice
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 1/4 cup minced flatleaf parsley freshly ground black pepper
Gently add 1# lump crabmeat, picked through. Mix carefully. Always taste and adjust seasonings -ALWAYS. Cook a tiny bit in a sautee pan to do this if you like. Line a dinner plate with waxed paper. Form the mixture into 8 equal balls (more or less) amd cover reasonably well with more waxed paper. A little air flow is desirable. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours - overnight is a bit better.
Another note, this time about cooking techniques. These crabcakes are both sauteed and baked. The saute pan and oil need to be barely below smokin' hot when adding the crabcakes or no crust will form and, seemingly paradoxically, the crabcakes will stick. You absolutely want to hear a strong sizzle when you add the crabcakes to the pan. Use a heavy saute pan. I usually use a good non-stick one at home, but you can use cast iron or commercial grade aluminum ones if you feel comfortable with them. I advise against steel ones. These saute pans will go into a fairly hot oven -remember to leave the door cracked and be sure that the handle is sticking out if the handle is NOT all metal. Use a pan appropriately sized to accomodate the number of your crabcakes (small 1-3 cakes, medium 4-5 cakes, large 6-8 cakes). I like using canola oil to saute the crabcakes as the fairly neutral flavor doesn't obscure their wonderful flavor.
TO COOK:
Add enough canola oil to barely cover bottom of heavy saute pan. Turn burner on stove to medium-high and heat until very close to smoking. Add the crabcakes and cook about 3 minutes per side. You want a crust to form that should be about halfway towards being dark. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT A PRETTY, LIGHT, GOLDEN BROWN. You need a darker, thicker, distinctively brown crust. Okay, it is a bit of tricky, the first few times, avoiding the black, over cooked crust. Just really focus on this and nothing else for a few minutes. Did I ever torch a few crabcakes at that restaurant?.....
After each crabcake has been cooking for 1 minute, take the tip, not the flat side of your spatula, press down with medium force on one of the crabcakes in three parallel lines, going from left to right.. Rotate the spatula 90 degrees and repeat with three more paralell presses, going from front to back. The indentations will form a tic tac toe pattern, with an extra horizontal and an extra vertical line. It may sound difficult, but it it is really quite simple and very effective. The spatula will be mostly vertical when you are doing this. After you turn the crabcakes over, let them cook 1 minute and repeat the tic tac toe pattern on the other side.
After roughly 6 minutes total sauteeing time you should have a good crust on both sides, although the first side cooked may be a bit darker. There should be no significant amount of oil in the pan by now. If there is, you should cut back next time. Make a note of it on your copy of this recipe. Drain any excess and put the pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, depending on whether the door is cracked (plastic handle??
and the
BTU output of your oven.
You are looking for a crabcake that has a well developed, medium brown crust and a creamy, yet fully cooked interior. The first time you sucessfully accomplish this for your friends and/or family, they will acclaim you as the god/goddess of crabcakes.
HHMMMPPP! Make THEM clean up the kitchen thoroughly, including the floors and emptying the trash!
Advertisement:
To the first person who guesses which ingredient in the following recipe was my idea, I will e-mail you my spicy! southwestern crabcake recipe! But with all I will share the all-time best way of cooking the crabcakes.
Some important notes about crabmeat:
Generally speaking, the asian stuff is trash - avoid it unless you know it well. If you can't afford good crabmeat, start saving up.
On the east coast, particularly around the Chesapeake Bay, wintertime crabmeat is dredged, sandy, lots of flake and low quality. Go ahead and enjoy oysters at this time of year.
Crabmeat is very expensive. Pick through it very careful for shell/flake - leave it as intact as possible!
Add it LAST to the recipe and DO NOT turn those chunks of meat into threads of unidentifiable...stuff.
Use a rubber spatula, if you want, to gently fold the meat into all of the previously mixed ingredients.
The crabmeat should have a naturally faint, sweet aroma and flavor - it should also be moist. Avoid sour- or ammonia-smelling crabmeat and likewise eschew dry and tasteless stuff. Frozen crabmeat may or may not travel well; some of it is okay and none of it is great.
Make up and form the crabcakes a day in advance. They benefit from cooling and setting up overnight and are easier to handle, cook and turn.
Deep-frying good crabcakes is a travesty. Period. so is cooking a steak well done, you rednecks!
BALTIMORE STYLE CRABCAKES - WITH FOND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE PIERCE FAMILY
makes 8 cakes, serve 2 per person at dinner, 1 per person at lunch.
15 to 25 minutes before you begin to cook the crabcakes, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
TO PREP:
Add to medium-large stainless steel bowl:
2 eggs 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup dijon mustard (gulden's is ok) 2/5 sleeve well-crushed saltines
2 tsp minced garlic 1/2 green bell pepper, small dice
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 1/4 cup minced flatleaf parsley freshly ground black pepper
Gently add 1# lump crabmeat, picked through. Mix carefully. Always taste and adjust seasonings -ALWAYS. Cook a tiny bit in a sautee pan to do this if you like. Line a dinner plate with waxed paper. Form the mixture into 8 equal balls (more or less) amd cover reasonably well with more waxed paper. A little air flow is desirable. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours - overnight is a bit better.
Another note, this time about cooking techniques. These crabcakes are both sauteed and baked. The saute pan and oil need to be barely below smokin' hot when adding the crabcakes or no crust will form and, seemingly paradoxically, the crabcakes will stick. You absolutely want to hear a strong sizzle when you add the crabcakes to the pan. Use a heavy saute pan. I usually use a good non-stick one at home, but you can use cast iron or commercial grade aluminum ones if you feel comfortable with them. I advise against steel ones. These saute pans will go into a fairly hot oven -remember to leave the door cracked and be sure that the handle is sticking out if the handle is NOT all metal. Use a pan appropriately sized to accomodate the number of your crabcakes (small 1-3 cakes, medium 4-5 cakes, large 6-8 cakes). I like using canola oil to saute the crabcakes as the fairly neutral flavor doesn't obscure their wonderful flavor.
TO COOK:
Add enough canola oil to barely cover bottom of heavy saute pan. Turn burner on stove to medium-high and heat until very close to smoking. Add the crabcakes and cook about 3 minutes per side. You want a crust to form that should be about halfway towards being dark. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT A PRETTY, LIGHT, GOLDEN BROWN. You need a darker, thicker, distinctively brown crust. Okay, it is a bit of tricky, the first few times, avoiding the black, over cooked crust. Just really focus on this and nothing else for a few minutes. Did I ever torch a few crabcakes at that restaurant?.....
After each crabcake has been cooking for 1 minute, take the tip, not the flat side of your spatula, press down with medium force on one of the crabcakes in three parallel lines, going from left to right.. Rotate the spatula 90 degrees and repeat with three more paralell presses, going from front to back. The indentations will form a tic tac toe pattern, with an extra horizontal and an extra vertical line. It may sound difficult, but it it is really quite simple and very effective. The spatula will be mostly vertical when you are doing this. After you turn the crabcakes over, let them cook 1 minute and repeat the tic tac toe pattern on the other side.
After roughly 6 minutes total sauteeing time you should have a good crust on both sides, although the first side cooked may be a bit darker. There should be no significant amount of oil in the pan by now. If there is, you should cut back next time. Make a note of it on your copy of this recipe. Drain any excess and put the pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, depending on whether the door is cracked (plastic handle??
and the
BTU output of your oven.You are looking for a crabcake that has a well developed, medium brown crust and a creamy, yet fully cooked interior. The first time you sucessfully accomplish this for your friends and/or family, they will acclaim you as the god/goddess of crabcakes.
HHMMMPPP! Make THEM clean up the kitchen thoroughly, including the floors and emptying the trash!