Ellie Krieger's Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce

Happy 2010!!! So far, the first day of the new year has been very productive for me. I finally got rid of all of my son's outgrown clothing and some miscellaneous stuff; then we did some much needed organizational work in the new nursery. Also, my resourceful husband resolved a curtain rod dilemma and we finally got the curtains up in the girls' new bedroom. Now, I can focus on getting dinner prepared and relaxing a bit.

I have been looking for a good crab cake recipe lately; and I remembered this one from Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave. I am intrigued with the prospect of baking the cakes instead of frying them, so we will see how it goes. The online reviews (from foodnetwork.com) are all fairly positive, so I have high hopes. Also, I made the Tartar Sauce recipe that I had previous posted, but improvised/added some ingredients to jazz it up a bit. I served the Tartar Sauce with my fish sandwiches last night, but I have a ton leftover to use again tonight. I will post the link below and then tell you what I added in my notes portion of this post. I think I will serve these crab cakes with some roasted potatoes and glazed carrots. Yum! I am looking forward to trying this new recipe.

Ellie Krieger's Crab Cakes
From: The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Dash hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 scallion, including green top, finely chopped
1 pound lump crab, picked over for cartilage
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl mix together the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning and hot sauce. Stir in the bell pepper and scallion. Gently fold in the crab, 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Put the remaining bread crumbs in a shallow dish.

Divide the crab mixture into 8 mounds. Shape 1 mound into a round and coat in bread crumbs. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and flatten the crab cake to form a patty about 1-inch high. Repeat to form the remaining crab cakes.

Bake until golden on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Gently flip the crab cakes and cook until the second side is golden, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Jen's Notes:
I am substituting canned crab meat from Trader Joe's. Hopefully, there will not be a huge difference in quality or flavor. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Here is the link for the Tartar Sauce recipe:

Tartar Sauce

Here is what I did differently from the posted recipe:
* I added chopped Cornishons instead of dill pickle/relish
* I added 1/2 tsp. of dried dill
* I added a small spoonful of sour cream to make the texture more creamy
* I added a few splashes of malt vinegar
* I used dried parsley instead of fresh parsley (probably about a 1/2 Tablespoon)
* I added both salt and black pepper to taste

This version of the tartar sauce turned out better than the original, so I think I will use this variation from now on.



The Result:
These were GOOD! Really GOOD! I was impressed with this recipe...especially for a "healthy" homemade crab cake that was not fried at all. The substitution of the canned crab worked out well, and will be one that I make again. I love when I can switch an ingredient for something more economical and it works out to my advantage!!!

I ended up using 2 cans of crab meat, but I forgot to check the label to see how the quantity compared to what was indicated in the recipe. Basically, I have no idea how many ounces of crab I actually used. I did need to add an additional egg (2 eggs total) and some more breadcrumbs to get the proper consistency so the crab cakes would hold together. Also, I rinsed and dried the crab with lots of paper towels to get as much moisture out of it as possible. I compensated for the extra ingredients by adding extra seasoning to the egg mix so the crab cakes would not be bland. It all ended up working out great; as these were very yummy and pretty easy to make. I got positive feedback from both my husband and son, too. If I can get an opinionated 3 1/2 year old to eat his dinner happily, then I count the meal as a definite victory. This will certainly be a recipe I make again!