Snow Crab Cakes
By Taylor McMeekin
You can make crab cakes so many ways, it’s hard to say what traditional is any more! Here is a very simple crab cake recipe we’ve created that involves deep frying the little cakes to achieve the ultimate golden and crispy coating. These crab cakes can be made small, as dainty canapés, or a little more substantial, to serve as appetizers. We’ve added a little Fogo Island Inn flare with the Black Kelp Mustard from our sister community enterprise, but feel free to switch in the mustard of your choice. And now to the recipe: Get ‘em while they’re hot!
Ingredients
1 cup Fogo Island Fish snow crab meat, thawed and cleaned
2 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tsp grainy mustard
½ cup sliced scallions
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped dill
2 tbsp chopped chives
Zest of one lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup flour
6 eggs, well beaten
2 tsp water
3 cups panko, pulsed in food processor
3 L canola, sunflower or vegetable oil
1 small jar black kelp mustard (or any kind of mustard), to serve
- In a large bowl, combine snow crab, crème fraiche, grainy mustard, scallions, herbs and lemon zest.
- Form mixture into desired cake size, then place in freezer for 20 minutes.
- Set up a breading station, with flour, eggs, and panko laid out in separate bowls, side by side.
- Dust crab cakes with flour, ensuring all excess flour is removed. Then dip dusted cake in egg mix, making sure no excess egg remains on the cake. Finally, cover in panko (a little pressure will help the crumbs stick). Place uncooked crab cakes back on baking sheet and return to freezer for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a deep skillet with oil at 320F (Tip: attach a deep-frying thermometer to the side of the skillet to ensure consistency of temperature).
- Gently drop crab cakes in oil with a slotted spoon, and deep fry until golden brown approx.2-3 minutes for Canape and 4-5 min for app Size. These can also be pan seared and finished in the oven.
- Transfer to a plate, lined with a clean dish towel to drain the oil, and let cool for 2 minutes.
- Garnish with black kelp mustard and a sprinkling of local edible flowers or picked herbs.
