broiled crab – From Lorian's Kitchen

Living in Maryland makes me a blue crab snob, for sure. Trying to get Gluten Free Crabcakes anywhere but in my own kitchen, is close to impossible. Most people use bread crumbs for filler, so I created a gluten-free and dairy-free crabcake with just the right amount of Old Bay seasoning that is both moist and flaky. As a condiment, I make my own cocktail sauce, which far surpasses anything in a bottle. My family loves crab and even the non-gluten-free people are in love with these cakes, Note that this recipe for 4 only fed 2 for dinner at my house. Some options to extend it might be to double the recipe (but right now lump crab is $70 a pound), make them smaller and use them as an appetizer, or extend them with a pound of claw crab meat. I updated this recipe in June 2021 to add a broil option for those that like it that way as well as changed around the order of mixing, because it works better.

Preparation time: 10 minutes + (minumum)1 hour in refrigerator

Cooking time: 8-10 minutes per cake

Servings: 4 (8 cakes)

Ingredients

1 pound fresh LUMP CRAB (Maryland jumbo lump or backfin)
1/4 cup MAYONNAISE
1-1/2 teaspoon DIJON MUSTARD
1-1/2 teaspoon OLD BAY seasoning (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon WORCESTERSHIRE sauce
1 teaspoon LEMON JUICE
1/4 teaspoon KOSHER SALT
1/4 to 1/2 cup Italian style gluten-free BREAD CRUMBS (start with 1/4)
1 teaspoon PARSLEY
1 EGG, lightly beaten
1/2 cup VEGAN BUTTER

Directions

DRAIN crab, if necessary, and PICK through for shells. The good-quality jumbo lump should not have shells. Place cleaned crab meat in a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, WHISK together mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and salt.
FOLD in the crab meat gently, trying not to separate the lumps. Combine well.
SPRINKLE the parsley and breadcrumbs over the crab mixture and mix gently but fully, once again trying not to break the lumps. Be careful not to mash them too much, you want the lumps to be whole.
In a small bowl, BEAT the egg lightly and pour over the crab/breadcrumb mixture folding gently with your hands. (Don’t over mix.)
COVER the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (I put them in the refrigerator usually a few hours before cooking.)
When ready to cook, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and with clean damp hands, FORM the chilled crab mixture into 8* cakes, about 3-inches wide by 1-inch thick (kind of like flat baseballs). Place the formed cakes on a clean plate.
- Or make 12 2-inches wide by 1-inch thick cakes and serve as an appetizer
TO FRY
- HEAT a large skillet on medium-high heat. ADD butter and heat for about 2 minutes until the butter becomes frothy.
- ADD the cakes to the pan. (8 1-inch cakes should all fit into a 12-inch skillet.)
- FRY the crab cake on medium-high for about 4 minutes until golden brown then FLIP the cake and reduce heat to medium-low for another 4 minutes, until the other side is golden.
- SERVE cakes immediately with cocktail sauce (or tartar if you prefer).
TO BROIL
- PRE-HEAT the broiler in your oven.
- PLACE the formed cakes on a parchment paper-lined backing sheet.
- Slightly SPRINKLE them with Old Bay seasoning.
- BROIL the cakes for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
STORE leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 days.