- take a deep breath, slowly exhale, this is going to be good
- in a medium bowl, place crab meat, carefully pick out any shell pieces (some may look translucent), wash your hands
- in a small bowl, beat 1 large egg, (wash your hands after cracking the egg into the small bowl)
- add 1 T Crab Cake Party seasoning
- add 1T buttermilk
- add beaten egg
- gently fold crab mixture 2-3 times, avoid over mixing and breaking lumps of crab
- add 2 t bread crumbs
- add 3 T favorite mayonnaise
- again, gently fold crab mixture, avoid over mixing and breaking lumps, reserve about 1 t of mixture
- form cakes, until just firm, (think hockey puck shape) place in the dish, single layer
- make a mini thumb cake from the reserved 1 t amount, add to dish
- cover and refrigerate dish with cakes for 20 minutes
- clean up, wash your hands
- remove cakes from refrigerator, have skillet and slotted metal spatula at the ready
- place a single stack of four or five paper towels to receive hot cakes
- heat a half inch of canola or peanut oil in a deep wide skillet to 350°F (medium-high heat), do not allow oil to smoke
- carefully place that 1 t reserved crab mixture piece in oil to check temperature, look for small “oil bubbles” & hear the frying “sizzling sound”. Ok, the test piece should be golden, place piece on a paper towel, allow to cool, taste it.
- Monitor your frying oil, don’t overheat
- carefully place cakes – one at time – in the oil, don’t overcrowd the cakes (if necessary, cook in batches)
- carefully shallow fry the cakes until golden, about 5 minutes each side, turning over just once (remember the crab meat is already cooked, you are cooking the raw egg and creating the crab cakes flavor)
- remove cakes to drain on paper towels
- turn off heat
- be certain to allow oil to completely cool before removing skillet from range
- enjoy your Crab Cake Party!
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