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NEW ORLEANS CRAB CAKES Appetizer for Twelve or Alternate Thanksgiving Dinner for Six (Requiring no trimmings) There’s an awful lot of passion and time wasted on debating the nature of a real crab cake, but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like them—either their own absolutely essential and correct version or someone else’s counterfeit variety. I’m including the recipe I prefer, which may enrage anyone from Maryland. When our children lived too far away to come home for the holidays, these crab cakes were an easy and delicious replacement for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and depending on how many people are coming to our house for Thanksgiving I sometimes serve these as a first course, although on those occasions I pare the meal down a bit otherwise, because these are surprisingly filling. I order jumbo lump crab meat from The Crab Place, in Crisfield, Maryland (crabplace.com), and it is so beautifully hand-picked that there is no need to look for bits of shell; you can use it immediately out of its container. I love the flavor of crab, and the only seasoning I use is minced bell pepper and minced parsley; but if you prefer the Maryland version you may as well use the recipe on the back of the Old Bay seasoning can. It’s good, although in my opinion it’s a waste of
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very expensive and delicately flavored crab, but I’ll admit to cherishing my own Louisiana recipes and seasonings for Gumbo and Jambalaya, and I’ve never found or been served a satisfactory version elsewhere. Certainly in the case of regional cuisine the familiar maxim holds true: De gustibus non est disputandum—About taste there can be no argument.
3 pounds jumbo lump crab meat ordered from The Crab Place to arrive the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, or two days before you intend to serve the crab cakes 3 eggs, beaten with: 1 cup mayonnaise 11/2 to 2 cups panko crumbs (or crushed saltines—about 30) 1 seeded green bell pepper
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1 seeded red bell pepper 1 bunch washed and dried curly parsley EQUIPMENT
• Food processor • Skillet • Colander • Mixing bowl • Broiler pan
1. Dice and then chop together the peppers and parsley by hand or in a food processor, pulsing so that you get an evenly minced texture. 2. In a covered skillet sweat the minced vegetables in 2 tablespoons butter or oil until they are limp and wilted. Allow to cool and then mix into the beaten eggs approximately 6 tablespoons of the sautéed, minced vegetables. If you have vegetables remain ing, spoon them onto a piece of aluminum foil, fold the foil into a sealed packet, and freeze for future use.
3. Handling the beautiful lump crab meat as little as possible, drain it in a colander and transfer to a large, wide mixing bowl, spreading and loosening the packed crab evenly, and as gently as possible in order not to break the lumps into smaller pieces.
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4. Pour the egg and vegetable mixture over the crab and, using your hands, distribute as evenly as possible throughout the crab meat, lifting and turning as gently as possible.
5. Slowly begin adding the panko crumbs, starting with one cup sprinkled and folded by hand into the crab. Add as much as you need but not so much that the texture becomes sticky. Allow the mixture to sit for 1/2 hour so the panko crumbs absorb the liquid and thicken. You will be placing these directly on a broiler pan and cooking them only on one side, so they will not have to be flipped, which makes forming the crab cakes much less worrisome. You should have twelve loosely held together crab cakes, slightly mounded—they will not hold the hockey-puck shape we’re used to being served in restaurants unless they have too much bread. What these lack in beauty, however, they more than make up for in flavor.
6. Place them on a greased or buttered shallow-sided pan—I use a broiler pan—and refrigerate uncovered for several hours. Remove them from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking and brush the tops or drizzle with melted butter.
To Broil: Place the oven rack about four to six inches from the broiler and preheat the oven to 500ºF on Bake so that the entire oven is hot, before you change the setting to Broil. Allow the broiler to heat for another five minutes. If the crab cakes
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have exuded liquid or wept, just use a paper towel to absorb what you can—it’s an easier solution than moving them unbroken to another pan. Broil the crab cakes for about 12 to 15 minutes, moving the pan to a lower rack if the tops begin to brown too quickly.
To Serve: I put a half lemon on each plate, because the crab cakes are delicious with nothing more than lemon juice. But I decorate the plates with a lattice of Balsamic reduction (or syrup), which you can make yourself or buy online from any number of sites if your store doesn’t carry it. Add two crab cakes per person for an entrée, and serve with Wasabi mayonnaise. These are also wonderful with nothing more than tartar sauce.
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