A mixture of seasoned crab and a light binder of freshly toasted bread, pan fried in a bit of butter and oil. Serve alone as-is, or with spicy horseradish mustard, spicy mustard sauce, jalapeno cream sauce, remoulade sauce, or comeback sauce.
Gulf Coast Style Pan Fried Crab Cakes
I've previously posted some oven baked crab cakes - great when you are trying to reign in the fat for a bit - but these pan fried crab cakes are the more traditional way to go down here.
This recipe is essentially a standard crab mix that I use for a variety of dishes with some variations here and there that I use to make crab patties for things like po'boys, or stuffed crabs, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed flounder and of course, these pan-fried crab cakes.
Add a nice mixed garden salad and a green veggie to round it out.
Here's what you'll need to make my
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, minced fine
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, minced fine
- 4 slices white bread, toasted
- 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Creole or Cajun seasoning, or to taste, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
First things first, you'll need to spread out the crabmeat on a pan and pick through it to check for stray cartilage and shell; set aside. I like using a black light flashlight because it really highlights the shell and makes it so much easier to pick out!
Toast the bread slices, sprinkle or spray each piece with water until thoroughly wet; set aside in a bowl for about 2 minutes to soak up the water and soften.
Squeeze out the bread and break it up. Add the egg to the bread and mix. Add the salt, pepper, Creole or Cajun seasoning and Old Bay.
Add the parsley.
Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion and bell pepper; cook until softened. Add to the bread and seasoning mixture.
Add the crab.
Very gently mix without breaking up the lump crab too much.
Form the crab mixture into 8 patties, place onto a parchment lined pan and freeze for 15 minutes to firm up. This helps them to hold together better in the skillet since there isn't a lot of filler.
When ready to fry, heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in a skillet over medium to medium high heat.
Place patties into the hot oil and cook until well seared on the bottom.
Use a spatula to carefully turn and continue browning. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet to melt, or melt separately, and spoon over the top of each crab cake to finish.
Serve with your favorite dipper - my spicy mustard sauce, jalapeno cream sauce, remoulade sauce or comeback sauce are all great choices!
For more of my favorite recipes with crab, visit my page on Pinterest!
If you make this or any of my recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!
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