I absolutely love crab cakes. There was a year straight when whenever I went out, if crab cakes were on the menu, I would order them as my appetizer. Seriously, I love the stuff. BUT they can be pretty expensive. One crab cake with some fancy garnishes or two at most usually runs me between $16-$22 in a restaurant. Uh…right. I know it’s an appetizer and all but one hardly hits the spot no matter how delicious it is. So I gave up on buying crab cakes and I now find myself making them every now and again. At $10-$12 for a pound of lump crab meat, I can make at least 10 crab cakes myself. I think I much rather that.

Ingredients:
1 large egg
2 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise (I like Hellman’s Real)
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (I like Maille brand)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup finely diced celery (you’ll need one stalk)
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 pound lump crab meat
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
Canola oil

Method:
1. Combine the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; gently fold mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat. Let mixture sit, covered, in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2. Shape into desired size crab cakes (about 1/2 cup each) and place on prepared baking sheet.
3. Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat and coat with canola oil. When oil is hot, place crab cakes in pan and cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve immediately with tartar sauce (if you wish)

I made a little slider with one of mine…YUM!

Bye For Now…..