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Baby Crab Cakes

Source of Recipe

From "Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking" by Nathalie Dupree


Recipe Introduction

"Pat Conroy is a dear friend of ours and former cooking student of mine. His crab cake recipe is famous, having appeared in the Washington Post and in his Pat Conroy Cookbook. This adaptation is for bite-sized crab cakes that melt in your mouth. Made larger and cooked longer, they are equally appetizing as a main course. When cooking a larger cake, surround it with a poached egg ring to hold the ingredients together before turning to cook the second side."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over and cleaned, all shell fragments removed
â—¦ 1 egg white, lightly beaten
â—¦ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
â—¦ 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
â—¦ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper
â—¦ 2 teaspoons coarse salt, divided
â—¦ 3 tablespoons butter, divided
â—¦ 3 teaspoons oil, cook's preference, divided
â—¦ Lemon wedges, optional


Recipe

Move the crabmeat to a large bowl and pour the egg white over the crabmeat in a slow stream, stopping occasionally to mix. When the crabmeat has absorbed the egg and feels slightly sticky to the touch, sift the flour over the crabmeat. Sprinkle with chives, peppers, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir lightly from the bottom, but don't overhandle.

Separate the crabmeat into 16 cakes by gently rolling each portion in a flattened palm. Gently press down to form the cake and move to a large plate. Sprinkle with remaining salt. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Melt half of the butter and half of the oil in a large skillet. Move 8 of the crab cakes to the hot fat and cook until a crust forms, about 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a thin metal or plastic spatula and cook another 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and melt the remaining butter and oil. Cook remaining crab cakes in the same fashion. Serve hot with optional lemon wedges.

Makes 16 crab cakes