Recipes Crab Cake Lovers Will Love

Award-winning chef and cookbook author Tom Douglas is well-known for his crab cakes. For 20 years, they've been a top-seller at his popular Seattle restaurants.

He displays his passion for crab cakes in his latest cookbook called, not surprisingly, "I Love Crab Cakes."

The book features 50 inventive recipes. It reveals the regional influences on this classic American dish. He also features some of his favorite celebrity chef crab cake recipes from Emeril and Jacques Pepin.

Douglas, a Delaware native, grew up on blue crabs steamed with loads of Old Bay spice, but later moved to Seattle, where Dungeness is king. He says that, ironically, he couldn't find crab cakes at most restaurants in Seattle. That shocked him, considering that Dungeness crabs are so fresh and widely available in the area. So, he set out to change the local restaurant scene with his crab cake recipes and, considering the demand for them, he succeeded.

WHICH CRAB TO USE
Blue crab, Phillips brand pasteurized crab, and Dungeness crab are interchangeable. Jonah crab and Peekytoe also work well. King Crab will give a different texture. The body, leg and claw of Dungeness crab are equally good to use. Jumbo lump and the back fin of the blue crab make the best textured crab cakes.

DRAINING & SQUEEZING CRABMEAT
Drain the crabmeat in a sieve. Gently squeeze the crabmeat with your hands to remove excess liquid, and at the same time feel for any bits of cartilage or shell and remove them. The challenge is to remove moisture without drying out the crab too much.

MIXING & HANDLING
Mix gently. Fold the crabmeat and the dressing together with a rubber spatula as if you're folding whipped cream into a mousse.

CHILLING CRAB CAKES
Once shaped, most crab cakes will be easier to handle if you chill them awhile. You can leave them right in the pan of crumbs for at least 30 minutes or for several hours or even overnight. The crab cakes continue to soak up crumbs if you leave them sitting in the pan, so only do this if you like a heavier crumb. You can also refrigerate the mixture first, then scoop and crumb the cakes right before cooking.

FORMING CRAB CAKES
A 2-ounce ice cream scoop is perfect for shaping a classic 2 1/2 - 3 ounce cake. Use a scoop with a release lever. Lightly pack the scoop with the heal of your hand and release the cake directly into the pan of bread crumbs. Press the crumbs around the cake while you're shaping it into a disk.

COOKING CRAB CAKES
The easiest way to tell if a crab cake is cooked is with an instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the center of the cake and if the temperature is 155 degrees F, the crab cake is fully cooked. Turn the crab cakes only once while cooking. Flip-flopping them is likely to break them apart and they won't get a nice crust. For sautéing, a good, seasoned cast-iron pan, or a shiny stainless steel sauté pan like an All-Clad or KitchenAid, or a pan with a nonstick surface all work well.

Douglas' recipes can be found on the following pages.RECIPES

CRAB AND SHRIMP CAKES WITH SPICY CHIPOTLE MAYO

Crab and Shrimp Cakes

1/2 pound crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell, and lightly squeezed if wet
1/2 pound cooked bay (baby shrimp)
One 5.6-ounce jar Devonshire cream (1 cup plus two tablespoons), at room temperature
12 saltine crackers, finely ground in a food processor or blender (about 6 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped jarred hot peppers (such as cherry peppers), stems and seeds removed

Heaping 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup canola or peanut oil
8 cups loosely packed prewashed mixed baby greens
Spicy Chipotle Mayo

Combine the crabmeat, shrimp, Devonshire cream, saltine crumbs, chives, lemon juice, hot peppers, and cayenne together in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes

Remove the crab and shrimp mixture from the refrigerator and form the mixture into 8 equal size patties, about 3 inches round 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick. Press the cakes together firmly so they don't break apart during cooking. Pour about 1/2 cup flour on a plate and dredge the cakes in the flour to coat all sides.

To cook the cakes, place 2 large nonstick skillets over high heat, add 1/4 cup oil to each skillet, and heat for 2 minutes. Place 4 cakes in each skillet and cook until golden brown on one side, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn carefully so the cakes don't break, reduce the heat to medium, and cook 1 minute on the second side. Remove the cakes from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.

Scatter the green on each of 4 plates, dividing them evenly. Place 2 crab cakes on each plate and spoon a dollop of the Spicy Chipotle Mayonnaise alongside. Serve with additional mayonnaise on the side.

Spicy Chipotle Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or more
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons pureed canned chipotle peppers in adobo
2 teaspoons minced garlic or more
1 teaspoon kosher salt or more

Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl. Use a whisk to stir in the lemon juice and olive oil. Add the cilantro, chipotle, garlic, and salt and stir to combine. Add more lemon juice, garlic, or salt to taste. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

BEER BATTER CRAB FRITTERS

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
2 scallions, finely chopped, white and green parts
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon beer
1 large egg, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 pound crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell, and lightly squeezed if wet
Peanut of Canola oil, as needed for frying
4 to 6 lemon wedges

In a bowl, mix together the flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add the bell pepper, scallions, beer egg yolk and butter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the crabmeat. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the egg white to soft peaks. Gently but thoroughly fold the egg white into the fritter mixture.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Fill a straight-sided pot with at least 2 inches of oil and heat to 350 degrees F, checking the temperature with a frying thermometer. Drop scant tablespoons of batter into the hot oil, adding as many as fit comfortably. Fry the fitters until golden brown, puffy, and cooked through. Remove the fritters from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and keep warm in the oven while you dry the remaining batter. You should get 24 to 26 small fritters.

Transfer the fritters to plates and serve hot with Spicy Remoulade and lemon wedges.

CRAB CAKE PO'BOY WITH MUFFALETTA OLIVE SALAD

1 jar (16 ounces) Italian giardiniera, such as Mezzetta brand
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Jazz Fest Crab and Crayfish Cakes shaped into 12 small patties instead of eight, uncooked
Spicy Remoulade
6 pieces French bread, cut into 6-inch lengths and split lengthwise

To make the muffuletta olive salad, put the contents of the jar of giandiniera in a sieve, drain off the liquid, then transfer the vegetables to a cutting board. Stem and seed any whole peppers, then coarsely chop all the vegetables. (You should have about 2 cups.) Put the vegetables in a bowl with the olives, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the parsley, and pepper and mix well. Set aside.

Place 2 large nonstick skillets over medium heat and pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into each pan. Add 6 patties to each pan and fry until golden brown on both sides and hot through, turning once with a spatula, 3 to 4 minutes per side. The internal temperature of a crab cake should read 155 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

Meanwhile, pull out a bit of the insides from both cut sides of a 6-inch length of bread. Spread the bottom half of the bread with some remoulade, then place 2 crab cakes over it. Scoop some muffuletta salad onto the top half, being sure to drizzle on some of the juices. Gently press 2 sides of the sandwich together. Repeat for the remaining sandwiches, cut the sandwiches in half, transfer to plates, and serve.

SPICY REMOULADE

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoons Tabasco or to taste
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Kosher salt

Put the mayonnaise in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

CRAB AND SCALLOP CAKES STEAMED IN BANANA LEAVES

1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
1/2 pound sea scallops
1/2 pound crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell, and lightly squeezed if wet
3 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon mirin
1/4 teaspoon ground star anise
1/4 teaspoon sambal
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 package banana leaves, thawed if frozen
Sweet chile sauce
4 lime wedges

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shiitakes and sauté, stirring as needed, until cooked through and slightly crisp around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Place scallops in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the shiitakes, crabmeat, chives, mirin, star anise, sambal, and salt. Set aside.

Remove a few banana leaves from the package and unfold. Gently wash the leaves under cool running water and pat dry. Use scissors to cut off the tough rib that runs along the bottom of the leaf and reserve for tying the packages later. Then cut or tear the leaves into sections roughly 8 inches square. Continue until you have eight squares. The sections don't need to be perfect or uniform, as long as they don't have significant tears or gaps. (You won't need all the banana leaves in the package.)

Lay out the banana leaf sections and put about 1/4 cup of the scallop-crab mixture in the center of each square. To form a packet, fold two sides of the banana leaf over the crab mixture, then fold in the opposite sides. Cut a length of the banana leaf rib and use it like twine to tie up the packet. Repeat until all the packets are folded and tied.

Fill a large saucepan or wok about halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Divide the packets between the two steamer baskets about halfway through the cooking time.

Remove the packets from the steamer baskets and serve 2 to each guest, cutting off the "twine" and partially opening the packets. Accompany each serving with a ramekin of sweet chile sauce and a lime wedge.

AVOCADO AND CRAB SALAD "CAKES" WITH SPICY MAYO

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 siracha or sambal
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1/2 pound crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell, and squeezed if wet
3 ripe avocados, as needed
4 teaspoons tobiko, salmon roe, or other caviar

To make the spicy mayonnaise, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, siracha, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.

To make the crab salad, whip the cream to soft mounds, using an electric mixer or a whisk. Stir in the mustard, then fold in the crabmeat, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice the avocados in half, remove the pits, and remove the avocado meat from the skins, using a large spoon. Cut the avocado crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Set out 4 small plates and place a ring mold in the center of each plate. Attractively arrange enough avocado slices in the ring molds to cover completely the bottoms of the molds with the curved sides of the avocado facing out. At least half the avocado slices should be left over. Divide the crab salad between the four ring molds, smoothing the tops of the salads with the back of a spoon. Arrange as many of the remaining avocado slices as needed to cover the crab salad in the ring molds. Spoon some of the spic mayonnaise over the tops of the molds. Put about a teaspoon of caviar on top of the mayonnaise in each mold and remove the molds by gently lifting them straight up. Serve immediately.

PAKORA POCKET SANDWICHES

Six 6-inch pita breads (with pockets)
1 recipe Crab Pakoras, fried
Cucumber Yogurt
12 tomato slices, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, arrange in 2 stacks, wrap each stack in foil, and heat in the oven for 10 minutes. If the pakoras need to be warmed, put them on a baking sheet and warm for 5 minutes in the oven also.

Remove the pitas and pakoras from the oven. Fill each pita half pocket with 2 pakoras, a big spoonful of Cucumber Yogurt, and a few tomato slices.

Transfer to plates, serving 2 half pockets to each person.

CRAB PAKORAS

1 1/2 cups chickpeas flour, such as Bob's Red Mill garbanzo bean flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons peanut or canola oil, plus more as needed for frying
2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup water
1 pound crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell, and lightly squeezed if wet
2 cups lightly packed spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup peeled and grated sweet potato (about 1/2 large sweet potato)
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
2 tablespoons stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped red or green jalapeno peppers
Cucumber Yogurt
6 lime wedges
Hot Mango chutney or spicy lime pickle

In large bowl, combine the chickpea flour, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons oil, curry powder, salt, turmeric, and cayenne. Add the water and mix well, using a rubber spatula. The batter will be very thick. Cover and allow to rest about 30 minutes.

After the batter has rested, add the crabmeat, spinach, sweet potato, onion, and jalapenos and fold into the batter using a rubber spatula. Because the batter is thick, and because there is a large number of ingredients, it may be easier to work them with your hands. At first it will seem that there is too little batter, but just keep mixing until you have a fairly homogenous mass.

Divide the crab mixture into 24 small mounds and form each one into a patty about 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Set the patties aside on a tray.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F

Clip a deep frying thermometer to a straight-sided pan filled with 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 350F, using the thermometer to maintain the temperature. Add as many patties to the oil as will fit comfortably and fry until golden brown and cooked through, turning occasionally with a slotted spoons, about four minutes. Remove from the oil with the slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining pakoras.

Divide the pakoras among 6 plates. Put a big spoonful of Cucumber Yogurt and a lime wedge on each plate. Pass more of the yogurt and hot mango chutney or spicy lime pickle at the table.

CUCUMBER YOGURT

1/2 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
2 teaspoons stemmed, seeded and minced jalapeno pepper
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Grate the cucumber and place it in a strainer set over bowl. Generously salt the cucumber and let drain for half an hour, then squeeze the liquid out. In a bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, cilantro, mint, scallions, jalapeno, and lemon juice and zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.