There is a photo in the family album, a six-year-old me on my Daddy’s shoulder, him hip-deep in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico (most likely Fort Walton Beach, 1970).
What happened next was not caught on film: as Dad was setting me down I looked into the water and saw what — to my eyes — was an enormous crab, right between his feet.
Huge. I commenced to start crawling up Dad’s back and head, trying to stay out of the water while Dad encouraged me to not do that when he must have felt something at his ankles and he looked down. Enlightenment dawned, he high-stepped to the shore and everyone came running to see the giant crab in the clear waters, right off the beach in the middle of the day.
It probably had rabies. At the time I thought it looked the size of a Volkswagen, but it was probably only the size of a dinner plate. A big dinner plate.
In the years since, I’ve night-fished for crab off of piers with a flashlight and a piece of liver on a string (catch and release). I’ve napped on the beach only to hear a little scuffing sound and found myself nose-to-nose with a ghost crab cleaning out the doorway to his burrow.
If you stay still, and look all around where you are, you’ll see that they are everywhere and you just didn’t know. I was probably laying across five or ten burrows right there.
I’ve taken a pre-dawn walk on a Florida Gulf Coast beach and come across nests of molting blue crab. Once, I hit the beach at Alligator Point and found at least 50 dead Horseshoe crabs — one a good ten inches across and two feet long.
And I have eaten crab: fried, boiled, stuffed, souffled and etouffeed. Alaskan King crab legs. Dungeness crab meat; Stone crab claws; softshell crab po’boys.
It’s all delicious, and even more so if someone else picks the meat for you. Crabs have an exoskeleton but that doesn’t mean there aren’t hard bits on the inside — pieces of cartilage that work as ligaments, help contain the gills, protect the poop section. You get the idea. Plus, shell fragments occur when you crack the crab, so you don’t want to bite down on that.
This all leads me around to TheLobsterGuy.com, which friend and Doctor of Psychology Jim Persinger introduced me to in December and I introduced to you last week. They have crab. Glorious crab. And they have steamed, quickly frozen, hand-picked crabmeat ready to be made into delicious crab cakes.
You may have had crab cakes at some point in your life, something like a bread paddy with celery, onion and some pink bits in it. However, you have not had a crab cake until 99.9% of the cake is actually crab.
It’s a culinary challenge to get something like this to hold together, and chefs on the food shows (the only way I get to travel these days) are pretty condescending about whether or not the average person can achieve it (are your ears burning, Maryland?).
I’m here to say you can. Start with quality lump crabmeat, fresh or frozen. No cans. Be gentle with the crabmeat and don’t break it up.
Murphy’s Crab Cakes
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped
Canola oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving
Whisk together the mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire and hot sauce, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Of course, I go for Tabasco, but something in the back of my head is whispering “Crystal Hot Sauce” (more pepper, less vinegar) or even Tabasco Green.
I might just pause here to mention that mayonnaise is mayonnaise, not Miracle Whip. As with the lobster roll, so goes the crab cake. At least for the first try, please use actual mayonnaise to get the tang and richness Miracle Whip just can’t provide.
Put down the avocado oil mayo, the coconut oil mayo or whatever else you may think will be healthier. The crab itself is full of minerals and vitamins and Omega-3 polyunsaturated acids. It’s one time, one-third of a cup and this recipe can serve four moderate eaters.
Thus endeth the sermon.
Gently fold together the crabmeat and dressing. Sprinkle on the parsley and panko, folding that in by hand, and gently shape the mixture into eight small or four large patties. Lay the patties on waxed paper (or parchment) on a plate and chill 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. You may be tempted to use olive oil, but it will change the flavor. I’ll give you peanut oil, but for your first try, focus on the crab. When the oil starts to shimmer, gently place the crab cakes into the pan and fry for four minutes. Don’t poke at them.
Use a spatula to gently lift and flip the cakes and cook on the other side about three minutes, then remove to the serving plate. The cakes will be golden brown.
Serve on a bed of salad greens with a lemon wedge, with sauteed sweet corn and bell peppers, on an English muffin and topped with a poached egg or on a toasted bun with a big slice of tomato and perhaps some tartar sauce. You will love it.
Let’s get cooking!
The Link LonkMarch 02, 2021 at 08:00PM
https://ift.tt/380xSqi
Crab Cakes for the People | Free | emporiagazette.com - Emporia Gazette
https://ift.tt/2MkGRbk
Crab
No comments:
Post a Comment