I LOVE crab cakes. I repeat. I LOVE crab cakes. I don’t go crazy for crab thou, so don’t confuse the subject. A crab cake, is a place. You go to a crab cake. It should be a destination.
There should always be more crab. If in doubt with your cakes, add crab. It shouldn’t be a surprise that there is crab in your crab cake. I have had way too many disappointing crab cakes where it’s mostly breading. I don’t want a pancake, I want a crab cake.
This is mostly crab. As it should be.
Recipes makes 30ish small crab cakes or 8 large ones.
Ingredients:
2 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
16 oz (1 lb) pasteurized lump crabmeat, check for shells
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup scallions or chives, chopped
2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 kosher salt
2/3 cup mayo
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
oil for frying, I used corn oil
Lemons for serving
Smoked Paprika Mayo:
1 cup mayo
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Spread some of the bread crumbs evenly on lined pan.
In large bowl, literally just mix everything but about 1/2 cup of the panko bread crumbs. I could tell you how to do this step by step, but every time I do this, I just end up mixing everything into a bowl and it turns out the same.
Mix with hands. Make sure ingredients are evenly dispersed. Form into patties. Not my Aunt Patty, just patties. For appetizers or sliders, I will make smaller patties. I love to serve these as entrees and on a brioche roll, so I form them larger.
Press them onto the bread crumb lined sheet pan. Sprinkle remaining bread crumbs over each patty and press them in.
Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the crab cakes for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Use this time to make your Smoked Paprika Mayo. Mix all ingredients in bowl and store for later.
Just before serving, remove the cakes from the refrigerator. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Gently lay the crab cakes in the skillet; pan-fry them until the outsides are crisp and browned, about 4 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with lemon wedges + smoked paprika mayo.
