Lovably Crabby Cakes

Crab cakes are high on my list of favorite foods. This recipe is my all-time favorite, and it can be made with any kind of cooked fish or shellfish.

You can buy cooked crab meat by the pound or buy precooked crabs and remove the meat. Be sure to clean the crabs well, carefully picking the bone and cartilage from the meat. This will take some time, but it’s important. For 2 cups of cooked crab meat, you’ll need about 2 1/2 pounds of crab.

When buying seafood, it’s important to get the freshest. The best way to know if it is fresh is to smell it. When I buy fish I open the package when I get into my car and smell it; if it smells “fishy,” not pleasingly briny, I return it right away.

The most important step in making fish cakes, or any fish or meat patty, is to handle the mixture gently. Don’t pat and press the patties or cakes firmly; this will make them dry and tough. Lightly mix the ingredients and gently pat to form the cakes with minimum handling. These are nice served with Tabasco sauce.

Crab Cakes Faidley

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 20 minutes

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

About 40 saltine crackers

2 cups cooked crab meat or any cooked fish with bones removed

2 tablespoons oil

2 lemons

* Put mayonnaise and mustard into mixing bowl and stir briskly with spoon until the color is uniform pale yellow.

* Spread a piece of wax paper about 16 inches long on counter. Set crackers on top of it, and using a rolling pin or your hands, press crackers into coarse crumbs. You should have about 2 cups crumbs. Add 1 cup cracker crumbs to mayonnaise mixture and add crab meat. Mix gently so crumbs and crab are well distributed in mixture.

* Spread remaining cracker crumbs evenly across wax paper. Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions and gently pat each into a ball. Lightly flatten each ball into 3-inch round cake. Lightly coat each cake in cracker crumbs that are on wax paper, top and bottom.

* Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and tilt skillet so oil completely coats bottom. Place 4 cakes in skillet and pan-fry over medium heat until golden on each side, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove cakes, add 1 tablespoon oil and fry remaining cakes in the same manner.

* Cut each lemon in half lengthwise and each half in half. Remove seeds and serve lemon wedges with crab cakes.

8 (3-inch) crab cakes. Each crab cake: 258 calories; 555 mg sodium; 41 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.