Gulf Coast Crab Cakes with Louisiana Attitude

Hailing from the Gulf Coast, David and I love seafood. With Mardi Gras right around the corner, we made crab cakes with a little Louisiana attitude. These crab cakes are overflowing with crab meat, having only enough binder to hold them together. As for the attitude, our crab cakes are served with a sweet roasted red pepper sauce spiked with a little Tabasco.

Crab Cakes Served with Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

 

Gulf Coast Crab Cakes

Serves 4

1 pound fresh jumbo lump crab meat

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup green onions (tops only), chopped

1/2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

1/2 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs

1 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Coarse sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 large egg, slightly beaten

2 – 3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs, for coating before frying

Canola oil, for frying

Pick over the crab meat to remove any shells.

In a medium bowl, gently combine the crab meat, bell pepper, green onions, parsley, cilantro, mayonnaise, plain bread crumbs, and Old Bay seasoning. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Crab Meat, Red Bell Peppers, Green Onions, Parsley, and Cilantro

 

Gently fold the egg into the mixture.

Combined Crab Cake Ingredients

 

Divide the mixture into four equal parts and form into cakes, approximately 3 inches in diameter each. Place the cakes on a platter lined with parchment paper, waxed paper, or foil, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Formed Crab Cake

 

When ready to fry the crab cakes, heat approximately 1/2 inch of canola oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. While the oil is heating, dust each side of the cakes lightly with panko bread crumbs.

Breaded Crab Cakes in Hot Oil

 

Once the oil is heated, gently place the crab cakes in the oil and cook until golden brown, turning only once, approximately 5 minutes per side.

Browned Crab Cakes

 

Serve with Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (recipe below). The sauce recipe yields approximately 1 3/4 cups of sauce. Using the crab cake recipe listed above, this will yield more sauce than needed. The sauce recipe can be halved. We found that adding the fresh red bell pepper to the sauce creates a more flavorful and colorful result than using the jarred red peppers alone.

Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1 jar (7 ounces) roasted sweet red peppers, drained

3 tablespoons fresh red bell pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 dash Tabasco red pepper sauce

Coarse sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree. Refrigerate until ready to use. Yields approximately 1 3/4 cups.

Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

 

Learn more about Louisiana’s legendary pepper sauce at http://www.tabasco.com/. To learn more about Louisiana’s Mardi Gras history and madness, visit http://www.mardigrasday.com/.