I know it can make me crabby — the thought of all of my hard work calorie counting down the drain with a few bites worth of deep-fried-something. That’s why I looove it when a dish can achieve the same taste results when baked as it can when fried. With more grams of fat per tablespoon of oil than you’d care for me to mention, baking in place of frying saves you tons, tons, tons of fat calories. In this case, unneeded fat.
I usually come up with a recipe first, and then compare it to some of my favorite chef’s recipes for the same dish. I have long used my crab cake recipe, but recently came across Paula Deen’s Southern Crab Cakes Recipe. I wanted to give it a good assessment because Paula Deen knows flavor, and in my book anything with “Southern” in the title usually means it tastes geat. So, I was glad to peruse Paula’s list of ingredients to see if she used anything more exciting than mine. The only big differences were that hers called for a green pepper instead of celery (a fine exchange, I’d agree), and for deep frying instead of baking.
I decided to experiment. I made a huge batch of crab cake “batter” and went about seeing if Paula knew something I didn’t about the necessity of adding oil to flavor the cakes. I was delighted to discover that the taste of the fried cakes and the baked cakes was nearly the same! I thought for sure I was sacrificing flavor in place of fat in this case, and was proven wrong. Enjoy your crab cakes even more now that you know you can save the oil for the fire!
This recipe also uses crackers, which has just made its way onto the Smart Ingredients list. This week I got a box of generic saltine crackers for $1, and I used them, crushed, as a replacement for breadcrumbs in meatloaf, to make chicken and dumplings, and in last night’s crab cake experiment. When it comes to cutting costs and buying ingredients that go a long way, it doesn’t get much smarter than that!
Baked Crab Cakes
Ingredients
- Jumbo lump crab meat (approximately ¾ pound)
- 15 Ritz or Saltine crackers, smashed
- 1 egg
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ cup diced celery
- ¼ cup diced onions
- ½ teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon spicy mustard powder
In a large bowl, break apart crab meat with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Form into patties. Place on baking sheet or baking dish treated with cooking spray. Bake in preheated 350°F (180° C) oven for approximately 20 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.
Serve with
Dijon Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons White wine (or white wine vinegar)
Combine all ingredients and blend well. Chill before serving.
Some great ways to serve crab cakes include over rice, or on a toasted roll topped with shredded lettuce and Dijon mustard sauce.
