Pamela and I met in Boston and we spent many of our summertime weekends in Maine, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, where we acquired a good grasp at preparing New England clam bakes at state parks, beaches or anywhere I could get away with starting a campfire.
The old Saab we used to drive always had a metal grate, a large pot, old bay seasoning and firewood in the back along with a couple of sleeping bags. We would cook up a clam bake with lobster, mussels, crabs, sausage, potatoes, onions, carrots and corn on the cob. Fun times, great food and fantastic wines.
Over the years, I have experimented with many recipes using traditional New England ingredients. Crab cakes, which happen to be one of Pamela’s favorite dishes, is served frequently at our dinner table.
Maine, circa 1989
Now that we live in Oregon, I decided to create a special Pacific Northwest style crab cake using local Dungeness crab. This recipe has evolved from many years of experimenting and using a number of techniques honed from restaurants I have worked in across the country.
Chef Marc, circa 1989
When I cook, rarely am I happy with my results except for my sauces. Nevertheless, I was pretty damn proud of these crab cakes, and from the looks of Pamela’s empty plate, I can safely say she thoroughly enjoyed them too. My recipe requires a labor of love but great crab cakes involve some work to make them spectacular. Enjoy!
Yield
8 appetizer portions (16) 2 oz. cakes or
4 dinner portions (8) 4 oz cakes
Ingredients for the crab cakes
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 green, orange or yellow pepper diced
- ½ cup Italian parsley chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 pound cleaned Dungeness crab meat
- Tabasco to taste, one shake is good. For me two or three is better
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs. ½ cup for the mixture 1 cup to coat finished cakes before cooking
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions for crab cakes
1. Dice the onions, celery and peppers.
2. In a medium sized hot sauté pan, cook the vegetables until translucent. Deglaze with white wine. In another saucepan, scald heavy cream, then add the cream to the vegetables. Cook down until almost sec (dry). Place the vegetables and cream mixture in a bowl to cool the mixture.
3. Pick through the crab to remove any shells. Squeeze all the liquid from the crab. When working with crab, always work in a bowl that is set in a bowl of ice. Five minutes of prep without refrigeration will dramatically reduce the shelf life of the finished product, especially if you freeze and cook them later.
4. Combine the vegetable cream mixture with egg, crab, lemon juice, parsley, Tabasco and breadcrumbs. Form into 4 oz balls (or 2 oz for appetizer size). Place on a sheet with additional breadcrumbs to coat the balls. Chill for ½ hour before cooking.
5. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat sauté pan to medium high. Add peanut or canola oil to the sauté pan. Sauté crab cakes on both sides until golden brown. Finish in the oven for 5-7 minutes, then flip. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until cooked through with an internal temperature of 180 degrees.
Ingredients for the sauce
- 1 red bell pepper (roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped)
- 1 cup mayo or fresh aioli
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions for sauce
1. Roast the pepper over a gas flame.
2. Once completely roasted, place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure it is sealed tight. The steam from the trapped hot pepper will loosen the skins.
3. Once the pepper is cool (about 10 minutes), gently peel the skin off the pepper. Do not rinse with water. Cut open the top to remove the seed pod.
4. Place the red pepper, mayo (or aioli), paprika, lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper into a small food processor and blend until smooth. If you want to be adventuresome, create two sauces. Roast a yellow pepper and combine it with Dijon, sweet onion, vinaigrette, capers and mayonnaise.
5. Serve the crab cakes as an appetizer or make a meal of it by serving it with a salad, roasted potatoes and fresh corn on the cob. Serve the sauce on the side or drizzle directly on the crab cakes.
On a side note, don’t forget about the wine! We pulled two bottles from the cellar and chilled them—a 2011 Ponzi Willamette Valley Pinto Gris and a 2011 Russian River Pinot Grigio from D&L Carinalli Vineyards.
Although the wines were quite different in style, they both paired nicely with the crab cakes. Enjoy!
I tried your recipe for the first time this weekend. My husband and I loved them! Delicious. This was the first time I tried a crab cake recipe that called for cream. I’m hooked. The sauces were equally great too!
Awesome, glad you enjoyed the crab cakes Tori! Pamela @ enobytes
Looks like a really creative recipe that appears will compensate to some degree for the use of Dungeness crab.
Here in Baltimore our recipes need not be so elaborate since we are afforded the luxury of using blue crab meat which needs almost no enhancement.
See: http://www.food.com/recipe/faidleys-world-famous-crab-cakes-89609
and forget the tartar sauce for which there is no need.
George, thanks for the comment. Had you wandered into the Galway House on Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA in the mid 80′s the Faidley’s recipe was almost exactly what we made. The loyalty to Blue crab is commendable, but being able to throw out crab pots and haul up fresh Dungeness Crab just a few miles from where I live is a Crab lover’s dream. Please drink more Oregon wine if you can. ENJOY!
Wherever you go along the eastern coast there is always one or two restaurants that claim to make the ULTIMATE CRAB CAKE. They might be good but nothing has yet to beat my recipe that is easy to make at home. Full of lump crab meat, moist on the inside, crispy on the out with a rich flavor. The finale is the Spicy Tarter Sauce that goes on top! THE ULTIMATE CRAB CAKE is the first food my daughter Lindsey ate as a toddler. Lindsey spit out her baby food refusing everything except her bottle. The pediatrician told me to take away her bottle and let her sit her in her high chair at dinner to eat or go hungry. As usual, she refused the baby food then waved her hand at our dinner. You guessed it! We were dining on crab cakes. This recipe is adapted from one of the T&C Maryland style crab cake recipes. As always, when cooking it is important to use the freshest ingredients. Investing in jumbo lump crab meat is important to give THE ULTIMATE CRAB CAKE the flavor and texture it needs to be so good. Handle the ingredients with care to keep the crab lumps whole and prevent them from breaking up.
Gold,
Thanks for the comment and it is encouraging to hear other culinairians who honor the integrity of ingredients. Your daughter was very lucky I was in my teens before I tasted my first crab cake. I have since made up for lost time and enjoy them regularly. Hopefully you get to drink Oregon wines with your Crab cakes, if you have not yet the Ponzi mentioned in this article is a good place to start and pretty easy to find. Montinore also makes some great Oregon white wines that go well with Crab and are also very easy to find. ENJOY!
Love the story and recipe! I plan on making these at my dinner party this weekend. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
Curious to know how they turn out for you…don’t forget the wine pairing :)
Success! I’ve tried many recipes and this is hands down my favorite. The steps are easy to follow and if I can make them, anyone can. I printed the recipe for safe keeping so I have it readily available the next time I make them – which will probably be next weekend.
Awesome! What time is dinner? ;)
Good recipe. Crab cakes rock!
Thanks for stopping by Brenda, enjoy!
Marc, the recipe looks similar to the one I’ve used for many years excluding the cream. I’m interested to try your version. I think the cream would add a nice touch of creaminess to the crab. The final product looks absolutely delicious.
Thanks Robert, try them and let us know how they turn out.
Agree with Robert. The cream is a nice addition to this recipe. Tried it an d loved. it. The instructions are easy to follow and the end result was delicious.
Excited you found a new favorite recipe Janet, cheers.
Long time lurker, first time poster! I had to try this recipe as the results look so damn good. The recipe is solid, and I hope to make the crab cakes again for a family reunion. Rock on Mac Marc!
I love it when lurkers come out to play! Glad you enjoyed the recipe Randy.