Blue Crab Cake Panini Recipes

JUMBO LUMP BLUE CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Pick over the crabmeat to remove any shells. Be gentle, as the lumps of crab are delicate and will fall apart. Set aside. Mix together the mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, scallions, basil, eggs, and salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the crabmeat and with your hands gently mix together. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the crab mixture and continue to mix. Divide the mixture into 4 parts and mold the cakes with your hands (do not rinse off you hands between mixing and forming the cakes, as it is mixture on your hands that help the cakes stay together).
• Refrigerate the cakes for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Paint the crab cakes with a minuscule amount of oil and sear in a hot oven-safe skillet or on a griddle top until lightly golden brown on both sides. The cakes have such little binder that you need to be careful when flipping them over so that they don't fall apart. Place the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, or to heat through.
• Serve with a red Cocktail Sauce and/or a flavored aioli.
• Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

CHESAPEAKE BLUE CRAB CAKES WITH FRIED OYSTERS

Steps:

• Pulse bread in a food processor until finely chopped. (You should have 1/2 cup.)
• In a large bowl, toss together celery, pepperoncini, parsley, breadcrumbs, and crabmeat to combine. Add mayonnaise, Dijon, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, egg, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; gently stir to combine. Form mixture into eight 2 1/2-inch-diameter patties (about 1/3 cup each). Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or, covered, up to 1 day.
• In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour, pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron), heat 1/2 inch oil over medium-high. Add a pinch of flour mixture; if it sizzles, oil is ready. Working in batches, gently add crab cakes to oil, reduce heat to medium, and fry, flipping once, until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes a side. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with salt. Strain oil into a small saucepan until you have 1 inch (adding more oil, if necessary) and heat over medium-high to 350 degrees.
• Pat oysters dry. Dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Fry until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels. To serve, place a few lettuce leaves on each plate; top with crab cakes, a few fried oysters, and relish. Squeeze lemon wedges over top if desired.

EASY CRAB CAKES WITH PANKO

Steps:

• Whisk mayonnaise, egg, Dijon, Worcestershire, and hot sauce together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• Mix crabmeat, panko, and parsley together in a medium bowl. Gently fold in mayonnaise mixture. Form into 8 patties.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties in batches and cook until golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining patties, adding more oil as needed.

CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Heat the broiler to 500 degrees (or its highest setting). On your oven's highest rack, broil all the bread slices on a baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden and crisp but not burned. Flip all the slices over and broil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the broiler off and allow the bread to crisp in the oven until totally dry, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove the bread from the oven and let cool. Using a box grater or rolling pin, coarsely grate and crush the bread slices into bread crumbs (or, pulse them in a food processor). The crumbs should look and feel like sand; you should get about 4 cups. Set the bread crumbs aside.
• In a large cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the butter and onion into a large bowl. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and onion, then slowly whisk in the milk to make a creamy sauce. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, vinegar and mace.
• Add the crab meat to the cream sauce and mix lightly with a fork; don't break up the pieces of crab meat. Gently fold in just enough of the bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together (about 2 1/2 cups). Divide the crab mixture into 12 equal portions, setting them on a baking sheet as you go. They should be thick rounds - about the size of the palm of your hand, and roughly 1 1/2 inches thick.
• Using your hand, take a scoop of the toasted bread crumbs and coat each crab cake.
• Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over high. Once the oil is hot, place a few of the crab cakes in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Place the cooked crab cakes on a paper towel to drain. Working in batches, cook the remaining crab cakes, adding more oil as needed.
• Serve crab cakes immediately, or set aside in a warm oven (see Tip) while you cook the remaining crab cakes.