A garnished crab cake.
Crab cakes are an American dish that has grown in popularity and spread throughout the country after being introduced along the East Coast. This dish, which primarily is made of crab meat and bread crumbs, along with other ingredients included to the cook's specifications, is easy to make and delicious to eat. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Be Prepared
Though many recipes fail to mention it, an important step, according to Chow.com, is to refrigerate your crab cake before trying to fry it. By taking your mixture--which is typically bound together by mayonnaise, mustard and egg which is mixed in with lumps of crab meat and bread crumbs--and letting it chill in the refrigerator, you are making it much easier to form the patties and keep them in one piece while setting them in the oil.
Also make sure to have a slotted spatula or deep fryer spoon to remove the cakes from the oil with, as well as a plate with a paper towel on it to place the cakes on when they are done cooking.
Suggested Oil
Don't just grab an oil from the grocery store and think that it's good enough--not if you're going to cook up some seriously good crab cakes. According to Betty Crocker's website, the best oil to use is peanut oil, which is lighter that typical cooking oils and allows the flavor of the crab and the bread and the mixture to remain instead of being replaced by often overpowering oil tastes. While it's more expensive, it's worth the cost if you're looking to make top-notch crab cakes.
Cooking
Add a tablespoon of butter to your peanut oil and heat over the stove at a medium setting. Once the butter starts to froth a little, add the cakes to the pan and allow to cook until the underside is a dark brown. Depending on the heat of the oil, this is usually about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and place on the paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
Crab cakes are traditionally served with a lemon wedge and sometimes a dipping sauce on the side.
Tags: crab cake, crab meat, crab meat bread, meat bread