Crab Cakes
Note from Mark: You’re on board with the challenge, but what should you eat? No worries. The Worker Bees and I have you covered. Every Saturday and Sunday during the 30-day challenge we’ll be bringing you some delicious Primal recipes. (Sorry, no Weekend Link Love for the next few weeks!) Enjoy!
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There are certain foods that people have very strong opinions about. Often, these opinions are regionally based. If you’ve ever been stuck in the middle of an argument about New York vs Chicago pizza, you know how heated the debate can get. Crab cakes also elicit a strong emotional response. Some cooks swear by Old Bay Seasoning, others use paprika. Some cooks add red pepper, others think it’s sacrilegious to use anything more than diced celery. But across the board, one ingredient seems to remains the same: breadcrumbs. You have to add breadcrumbs to crab cakes to bind them together. Or do you? Questioning these sort of food fallacies is a common practice for modern day Groks. Yes, breadcrumbs hold crab cakes together, but the main reason they’re in crab cakes is to act as filler, so restaurants don’t have to put as much crab in your cake. Making a perfectly delicious crab cake bound together solely by egg yolks is easy to do.
First, let’s talk about fresh crab. You can buy whole crabs, but already picked meat is both easier and usually not much more expensive. Some stores also sell packaged wild-caught crab meat that is pasteurized and refrigerated and slightly less expensive. (this is much different than imitation crab, which should be avoided at all costs). For crab cakes, Dungeness Crab is the most sustainable choice and Blue Crab is a good alternative. Lump meat is the bigger chunks from the body of the crab, often lighter in color with a richer texture. It’s considered the premium part of the crab and you’ll pay premium prices for it. Claw meat has more of a shredded texture – it’s less pretty, but can also be more flavorful (and it often sells for half the price of lump meat.) This recipe uses a combination of the two, for texture and flavor.
Ingredients:
1 pound crab meat, combination of lump and claw
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot or onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
1 teaspoon lemon zest (grated off the outside of a lemon)
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup olive oil
Directions:
Bundle the crab in a thin dishtowel and give it a few hard squeezes to release moisture. You’ll probably be able to get a couple tablespoons of liquid to drip out.
Whisk the egg yolks. Add the shallot, celery, dill, lemon zest, hot sauce and paprika. Gently mix this into the crab. The mixture is not going to look like it will hold together, but don’t worry.
To form the crab cakes all you need is a round cookie cutter about 2 inches wide. Using a tablespoon measurement, scoop 2 generous tablespoons of crab into the cookie cutter.
Press the crab down very firmly with your fingers. Gently lift the cookie cutter.
Using this method, you should be able to make at least a dozen crab cakes. Cover the cakes and refrigerate for one hour or more. This helps the ingredients bind together.
Preheat your oven to 375. On the stovetop, heat the olive oil in a pan. When the oil starts to sizzle, use a spatula to slide the crab cakes into the pan. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side until they are browned and crispy. Don’t put too many in the pan at once.
Use a spatula to scoop the cakes out the pan and onto a cookie sheet. Put in the oven for another six minutes to make sure they are warmed through the middle. Garnish with dill.
The most important steps in this recipe are using the cookie cutter to shape the crab cakes and refrigerating them for at least an hour before cooking. Other than that, let your regional tastes take over. Add red pepper if you like or mustard. Play around with the seasonings. But forget all about the breadcrumbs. You won’t even miss them.
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Posted By: Worker Bee
Never really been a big fan of crabs, either kind =), but maybe i should try this one.
Fantastic – great simple explanation and photos.
I just got home from Sea Trial with a Maersk rig, got home, ate clean oatmeal + peanutbutter + banana + raisins.
Did a mini crossfit WOD. Did swim sprints. Caught some sun. Took graduation photos at the Singapore Supreme Court on my rest day. Did more swims. Napped. Did 100m sprints.
Now I’m really hungry for some crab cakes! And I’d definitely would want to win a Grok Tee!
This sounds wonderful. I will try this with crab meat, as well as separately with fish.
I just saw crabcakes on a menu Friday night and had to pass them by, even though I love them. Thanks for the recipe!
Way to kill an IF buzz by waking up and the first thing you see are these “salivatingly” yummy-looking crab cakes. Thanks, Mark.
love the recipe – although I am one of those who thinks that a little (ok , alot) of Old Bay makes everything that much better! Yum!
In Baltimore we might like this served with an ice cold National Bohemian or Natty-boh. Not primal but I cant seem to eat crab without a beer to wash it down.
To get the crabcakes to hold together a bit better during mixing, you can use the eggs and olive oil to make a homemade mayo. Then, use that mayo when mixing things up. You can also then add some lemon juice, mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and some chopped capers to any leftover mayo for a homemade tartar sauce to have with the crabcakes.
Just received my Primal Blueprint book yesterday! Logged into this website for the first time this morning. The timing of this post is perfect as we’re headed down to the pier – will pick up some fresh crab tonight!
Thanks, Mark. I will definitely try this recipe.
Grok say….”crabba-dabba dooooooooo”
These look like a great primal recipe, gonna have to ty them out!
Im sure grok was dug to find some crabs, and then roasted them on the fire for a nice meal! I just had a great workout idea! Digging in the sand!
Super simple, super quick recipe. There’s no reason not to make these if you’re a seafood lover. The only problem might be in sharing them!
time to go buy some crab meat, i think
Crab! I’ve had salmon cakes before, and there’s often more potato than fish in them. Need to try this variety!
There is a restaurant in my neighborhood that uses wild rice instead of the bread crumbs. That may be an option for some
Mmmm…I love crab cakes! Will be making these this weekend!
the crabs here in korea are primarily teeny tiny but i like that i can substitute other local seafood in this recipe and still have a delightful, primal meal. thanks for the idea!
I will definitely have to try this.
Woo hoo! I’ve been looking for a non-bread-containing crabcake recipe, and here it is! Now where did I put the crabs…?
this looks awesome!
tasty primal snack!
As someone that has never had the pleasure of tasting crab, I am greatly intrigued – and re-writing this weeks shopping list!
refriferation is really the key to holding together till crisping up..caught a flounder night before and stuffed it with tons of crabmeat..with a flashlight and gig..very grokish
Leaving comment for t-shirt
Thanks! I’ve tried to make crab cakes without the breadcrumbs with varying success. I always thought the best crab cakes are those with the least breadcrumbs anyway. Thanks for the method.
First crab cake recipe I’ve ever seen that omitted bread crumbs!
I use a different set of ingredients that seems to taste well. Here’s what I use:
Crab lump, 2-3 whole eggs, salt to taste, red chilli powder, fresh ground pepper, chopped onions, chopped cilantro, lemon juice, almond meal(about 1/4th the amount of crab), fresh cream. The almonds will give a nice nutty flavor to the the dish and also adds volume and healthy fats. Cook using butter.
I’ve never had a crab cake (at least not that I know of). I don’t see the point of adding anything to my crab. Just boil it in the shell, and crack and eat. (you aren’t primal if you need a pliers or break the shell open)