Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy and The Old Biloxi Vancleave Special

A Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy, known locally as a Vancleave Special, is made with seasoned, thin crab patties, served on po'boy bread with mayonnaise, cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and pickles. Add a cup of gumbo and a cold Barq's root beer in the bottle.

Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy

It rained long yesterday, ahead of a cold front that will be bringing some welcomed lower humidity and temperatures for a day or three again. I love a good rainy day though, especially now that I work from home and don't have to make that 60-mile, round trip commute on a dangerous interstate highway.

Honestly, with a legal career that was already stressful enough, the stress started well before I got there with that drive most days. It was a fine paying job, and I really enjoyed my work until Hurricane Katrina took it away, but honestly, there are so many things that I really don't miss about it anymore.

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 essential 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 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.

Stuffed (Deviled) Crab

Stuffed crab, made with fresh lump crabmeat, onion, and bell pepper, seasoned with Old Bay and Cajun seasoning and bound with egg and toasted bread crumbs and baked.

Deviled Stuffed Crab

I so love stuffed crabs! My Mama almost always made these from freshly picked crabs and then stuffed the cleaned and sterilized crab shells as I have here, but most folks would just make these into patties, or put them in those aluminum crab shells, which is perfectly acceptable!

 

A lighter version of crab cakes, made with whole wheat bread crumbs, baked in the oven and served with a light jalapeno cream sauce.

Baked Crab Cakes with Creamy Jalapeno Sauce

Being from the south, I'm used to crab cakes that are delicately pan-fried in a bit of butter, but this baked version is really delicious too... and a little lighter!