Crab Cakes

March 9: National Crabmeat Day

Six weeks after our Hawaii wedding, Highlander had to go on a business trip to Maryland. Not wanting to leave his new bride in their one-bedroom Oklahoma apartment all alone, he decided to fly Islander up to join him for a long weekend. It was like a mini-honeymoon, because we did not have much time or money to go to Scotland until a year later (for our first anniversary/honeymoon). We enjoyed exploring Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. At the Inner Harbor, we tasted some of the best seafood fresh from the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay! We might not be able to recall now which museums and restaurants we went to exactly, but we remember that we were so stuffed with delicious Baltimore crab cakes that we just wanted to rest instead of continue with our sightseeing plans. As we reminisce about our first real newlywed trip together, we re-create a meaty Baltimore crab cake recipe for our blog for National Crabmeat Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Crab Cake Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup real crabmeat, flaked and drained
• ½ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided use
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon green pepper sauce (see Notes)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoons sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the crabmeat with two tablespoons of panko, egg, green onions, parsley, mayonnaise, pepper sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Shape into patties. Coat in remaining panko. Refrigerate for at least an hour to set. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Fry the crab cakes until each side is golden brown (about 3-4 minutes per side). Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with sliced lemons (optional).

Notes

• We did not have green pepper sauce in our pantry. So we added tabasco sauce instead.
• Crab cakes make an excellent Lent dish.