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Crab Cakes with Special Seafood Sauce

Source of Recipe

"The Old Farmer's Almanac Comfort Food" by Ken Haedrich


Recipe Introduction

"Everyone has a different expectation of a crab cake. This one beats them all."

List of Ingredients

Crab cakes:
â—¦ 1 pound lump crabmeat
â—¦ 2 scallions, white parts only, minced
â—¦ 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
â—¦ 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
â—¦ 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh dill
â—¦ ¾ cup fine, plain cracker crumbs, plus extra for rolling, divided
â—¦ 1 large egg, lightly beaten
â—¦ 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
â—¦ 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
â—¦ ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
â—¦ Olive oil and unsalted butter, for frying

Sauce:
â—¦ ¾ cup mayonnaise
â—¦ 3 tablespoons sour cream
â—¦ ¼ cup dill pickle relish
â—¦ 2 tablespoons tomato-based chili sauce
â—¦ 1 tablespoon minced red onion
â—¦ 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
â—¦ ½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon sugar


Recipe

For crab cakes:
Preheat the oven to 300° F. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
Combine the crabmeat, scallions, bell pepper, parsley, dill, and ¾ cup cracker crumbs in a large bowl and mix to blend. Put the remaining crumbs in a shallow bowl and set aside.

In a third bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce and whisk to blend. Add the egg mixture to the crab mixture and stir until the ingredients cohere.

Shape the crabmeat mixture:
For "silver-dollar"-size cakes, use 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture; for larger cakes, use about ¾ cup. Form crab balls. Roll each ball in the cracker crumbs. Flatten each ball into a ¾-inch-thick disk and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat; don't let the butter smoke. In batches, cook the crab cakes for about 3 minutes on each side, turning once. Between batches, wipe the skillet with paper towels to remove burned crumbs and add fresh olive oil and butter. Transfer the crab cakes to an unlimited baking sheet and hold in the oven until all are cooked.

For sauce:
Put the mayonnaise and sour cream into a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the dill pickle relish, chili sauce, onion, parsley, seafood seasoning, mustard, and sugar. Stir to blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Serve crab cakes with the sauce on the side.

Makes 12 to 30 crab cakes