Crab Cakes

Crab complements a refreshing Riesling.

Crab Cakes

About a year ago I tried my hand at making crab cakes using a compilation of various recipes found on the web. The problem? The cakes wouldn't hold together; I had "crab crumble" not crab cakes. A short time later I found the reason why while reading Ruth Reichl's Comfort Me with Apples in which she describes a delicious crab cake recipe. The trick is to form the cakes on a cookie sheet and then chill them for at least an hour before attempting to fry them. Also I had used canned crab which just doesn't taste nearly as good as fresh. This weekend I tried again to excellent results. Many crab cake recipes have a high ratio of filler. This one is mostly crab. There was some debate over the recipe - my family declared it perfect, and although rich and buttery, I thought they could have been a bit spicier. When I make these again I'll add a pinch of cayenne. They were terrific with cocktail sauce, but just a little bit too plain for my taste on their own. That said, the recipe calls for a teaspoon of paprika. Ms Reichl doesn't indicate if it is hot or sweet paprika, just paprika. So perhaps she meant hot paprika? Don't know, we used sweet.

Crab Cakes

• 1 lb lump crabmeat (2 lb crabs from Whole Foods, we cracked them and got about 1 1/4 lb of lump crab meet)
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp prepared tartar sauce
• 2 slices firm white sandwich bread torn into small pieces
• 6 Tbsp fresh bread crumbs

Pick over the crabmeat to remove any bits of shell and cartilage, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab.

Cook the onion and 1/2 of the teaspoon of salt in 1 Tbsp of butter in a small skillet, over medium high heat, until the onion is softened. Let it cool.

Whisk together the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, remaining salt, paprika, pepper, tartar sauce, and onion mixture. Gently fold in the crabmeat and torn bread. Note that the mixture will be very wet. Gently form the mixture into six cakes, each about 3 1/2 inches across and 3/4 inches thick. Line a tray with a piece of wax paper just large enough to hold the cakes and sprinkle it with half of the bread crumbs. Set the crab cakes in one layer on the top of the paper and sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs. Cover the crab cakes loosely with another sheet of wax paper and chill for one hour.

Melt the remaning 3 Tbsp of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until the foam subsides. Cook the crab cakes until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

Makes 6 crab cakes.

Beurre Blanc

• 1/4 cup dry Riesling
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into 8 to 10 pieces
• Salt and white pepper

Boil the wine and shallot in a wide saucepan until the wine almost evaporates, moving the pan to keep the shallots from burning. Off the heat, add the lemon juice. It will sizzle merrily. As it settles down, start adding the butter, two or three slices at a time, swirling in the pan to melt it evenly. Add the next few slices of butter just before the first ones melt. Return the pan to the heat for a few seconds at a time as needed to keep the pan warm. All you are doing is melting the butter and incorporating it into the reduced liquid. It should never come close to simmering. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and spoon it over and around the crab cakes.

Note: To make the beurre blanc ahead, store it in a thermos to keep it warm, up to 2 hours. Don't keep it in a double boiler.

Wine Spectator Online