Melissa Dunlap
May 11 at 9:44 PM
The Crab Cake Story. A dear couple, family, Ray & Lindy Jones of Rohnert Park, CA, harvest crab every year in Oregon and send Marilyn pint jars in a care package once or twice a year. My baby brother, Bruce, took me to his favorite restaurant downtown Seattle in 2010, bought me lunch and this book. He has pestered me (ever since) to make them. I finally did it! Only took me 10 years and 3.5 hours! Maybe it will be faster next time. Ted LOVED them. The author, Tom Douglas, and my brother look a lot alike!
Recipe as I made them. Allow plenty of time the first time because they need to be refrigerated for an hour before frying. Link below to print; click on “Print Recipe“.
Etta’s Classic Dungeness Crab Cakes (modified)
Makes 8 large (or 16 small – large egg size)
Half a recipe (8 small cakes) fit in a 9″ cast iron skillet as pictured.
Ingredients: 1 large egg yolk (I used the whole egg)
2 tsp lemon juice (I used bottled)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1.5 tsp Tabasco
2 Tbl + 1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fresh or dried thyme
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper (I omitted)
5 Tbl olive oil
*****
3/4 cup chopped parsley (divided in 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped green pepper (I prefer yellow pepper)
******
1 pound crab meat, about 4 cups (I used 4 jam jars of canned crab) drained and “picked clean of shell” (if there is any)
5 cups bread crumbs (I think 3 was enough. I only had 4 cups to start and had lots left over.)
5 Tbl butter
4 lemon wedges (optional – I didn’t have any)
Cocktail sauce (optional – they were delicious without any sauce)
Directions:
1. Mix 1/4 cup parsley with bread crumbs, set aside.
2. Mix the first 10 ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender.
3. Combine liquid and spices with the crab meat, onions, peppers, remaining parsley, and 1 cup of bread crumb mixture. Don’t over mix or they may be gummy.
4. Gently form cakes and lay in bread crumbs, toss crumbs over and around, remove to shallow container and refrigerate for an hour before frying.
5. Melt butter in skillet and cook cakes about 4 minutes on each side. I use the lowest setting on my gas stove. I added a lid to aid in heating through after I turned them over.
Enjoy!
