Today is the day for all the seafood lovers out there! National Crab Day is the day to enjoy this lovely crustacean. Crabs live all over the world in our oceans, freshwater and some are even on land (which are covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of claws). There are many animals with similar names, such as hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs and horseshoe crabs, but they are not true crabs.
There are over 5000 different crabs that we know of. One of my true favorites is the Blue Crab, which can be found from Nova Scotia to Northern Argentina. Blue Crab adults are usually 5-7 inches across, adults reach maturity 12-18 months. Recently introduced to France, Denmark, San Francisco and the Mediterranean, females have been known to travel 500 miles in 100 days.
The Chesapeake Bay area made this crab so popular that they cannot keep up with the numbers of crab they need and sometimes get the crabs from other areas. One of my favorites is the traditional crab cake.
Crab Cake Recipe
Yields 6 crab cakes, enough to serve 3 adults as a main course.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup finely diced red, green and yellow pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 pound lump crab meat
- 1/2 cup panko
- Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking
Method
- Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, peppers and onion in a large bowl, and mix well.
- Add the crab and panko. Gently fold mixture together until combined; careful not to shred the crab meat.
- Shape into six crab cakes, and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat, and coat with canola oil. When the oil is hot, place crab cakes in pan and cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this article or flight crew culinary training, contact me at jdetloff@airculinaire.com. For questions about in-flight catering, contact weborders@airculinaire.com.
