Sunday, July 20, 2008

Crab Cakes with a Spicy Remoulade Sauce



One of the most romantic spots on the Oregon Coast is Newport Bay. Our favorite restaurant is called Canyon Way Bookstore and Restaurant, their Crab Cakes are amazing. We order them each and every time we eat there. One day on a whim, I called them and asked for the recipe, and the Chef was kind enough to give it to me. My husband has since tweaked it and it is richer and crabbier than theirs! He makes it on special occasions.

1 lb Dungeness Crab meat (2.5 to 3 whole crabs will yield this amount)
1 cup fresh chopped parsley (regular not Italian)
3 cups bread crumbs (one cup for the cakes the rest for breading)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 yellow onion diced (mild onion)
1 whole shallot diced
2 eggs, beaten
2 additional beaten eggs (for dredging)
2 cups flour (for dredging)
1.5 cups white sauce, commonly called Bechamel (click here for link for white sauce), it must be made from a flour roux and simmer with 1 bay leaf and 2-3 whole cloves, 1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

Saute the onions till they are translucent, add shallots and the parsley, continue sauteing till parsley is limp. Remove to cool.

Put the cooled onion mixture in a bowl, add 1 cup white sauce (remove bay leaf and cloves), stir in eggs, gently fold in the crab.

Start adding bread crumbs folding the mixture, till the batter is the consistency of a sticky cookie dough. If you add too many bread crumbs and it becomes dry, add more white sauce.

Form cakes about 1/2 inch thick and 4 inches across

Dredge in flour, then egg wash, then bread crumbs. Makes between 15and 20 cakes. You can refrigerate for a day before cooking if you wish.

Preheat a non stick sauce pan on medium heat, add enough oil to come 1/2 way up the cake, add a tablespoon of butter.

Pan fry the cakes until bot sides are golden brown, you can hold in the oven on a raised rack at 170 degrees

The Remoulade Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp franks red hot or any hot sauce
2 tbl rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbl good balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt

Mix well, re-season to your taste, we like it spicy!

These freeze amazingly well

6 comments:

Jan said...

Wow! I am in awe. I adore crab cakes. Those look and sound amazing, Cheryl.

Raquel said...

Mmmmmmm . .. crab cakes. Unfortunately, we are unable to get decent crab here in the midwest! Oh well, one can dream! Much love - Raquel XO

Paula said...

Wow ... what time should I come over for some of these? Yum! Yum! Yum! Outstanding recipe! I've had crab cakes where they add corn and chunks of green pepper, and before you know it, there's no flavor of crab at all! Yours is seasoned to allow the flavor of the crab to shine through the seasonings. I repeat ... YUM!

Anonymous said...

link for white sauce no worky.

test it comm said...

Those look like tasty crab cakes!

MaryBeth said...

Hey Cheryl...That looks wonderful.

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