Chesapeake Blue Crab Cakes With Fried Oysters Food

CHESAPEAKE BLUE CRAB CAKES WITH FRIED OYSTERS

Steps:

• Pulse bread in a food processor until finely chopped. (You should have 1/2 cup.)
• In a large bowl, toss together celery, pepperoncini, parsley, breadcrumbs, and crabmeat to combine. Add mayonnaise, Dijon, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, egg, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; gently stir to combine. Form mixture into eight 2 1/2-inch-diameter patties (about 1/3 cup each). Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or, covered, up to 1 day.
• In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour, pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron), heat 1/2 inch oil over medium-high. Add a pinch of flour mixture; if it sizzles, oil is ready. Working in batches, gently add crab cakes to oil, reduce heat to medium, and fry, flipping once, until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes a side. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with salt. Strain oil into a small saucepan until you have 1 inch (adding more oil, if necessary) and heat over medium-high to 350 degrees.
• Pat oysters dry. Dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Fry until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels. To serve, place a few lettuce leaves on each plate; top with crab cakes, a few fried oysters, and relish. Squeeze lemon wedges over top if desired.

CHESAPEAKE CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together egg, mayonnaise, Old Bay, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Fold in crabmeat to evenly coat (do not overmix). Generously dust a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Divide crab mixture evenly into 12 portions, forming each into a 2-inch-diameter, 1-inch-thick patty. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Dust tops of crab cakes generously with cornmeal and chill in refrigerator until set, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Stir together celery, cucumber, juice of one lime half, and a pinch of salt; set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. When oil shimmers, add half of crab cakes and reduce heat to medium. Cook, undisturbed, until a golden-brown crust forms on bottoms of cakes, 4 to 5 minutes. Gently flip and cook until golden brown on other sides, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Wipe skillet clean and fry remaining cakes in remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
• Squeeze remaining lime half over crab cakes. Serve warm, topped with celery mixture.

CHESAPEAKE BAY CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Pick crabmeat, removing any bits of shell.
• Whisk egg in a medium bowl. Whisk in parsley flakes, next 3 ingredients, 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise, and 3/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning. Gently stir in crabmeat and cracker crumbs. Shape crab mixture into 18 (1 1/2-inch) patties. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Stir together remaining 5 Tbsp. mayonnaise and 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning; spread on crab cakes, and sprinkle with paprika.
• Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes or until golden. (Do not overbake.) Serve with lemon wedges. Garnish, if desired.

CHESAPEAKE BAY CLASSIC CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Put the egg yolk, seafood seasoning, mustard, lemon zest and juice, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor or a blender and process until smooth. Gradually pour in the oil with the machine running until the mixture emulsifies and forms a mayonnaise. Season with the salt and pepper. (Note: this quantity of mayonnaise will not emulsify in the bowl of the largest size food processor. Use a medium size food processor, a mini processor, or a blender.)
• Transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the scallions and the crabmeat until well combined. Combine the bread crumbs and the parsley in a shallow container. Form the crab mixture into 8 patties about 3-inches wide and 3/4-inch thick and drop them into the bread crumb-parsley mixture. Dredge the crab cakes on both sides. If you have time, leave the crab cakes in the container of bread crumbs, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour or more.
• When you are ready to fry the crab cakes, put 2 large nonstick skillets over medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons butter to each pan. When the butter is melted, add 4 crab cakes to each pan, patting off excess crumbs first. Slowly fry the crab cakes over medium heat until they are golden brown on both sides and hot through, turning once with a spatula, about 4 minutes per side. If the crab cakes are browning too quickly, reduce the heat. The internal temperature of a cooked crab cake should be 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Transfer the crab cakes to plates, 2 per person, and serve with your choice of sauce and lemon wedges.
• 8 ounces tomatillos, husked and cut into quarters
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons green hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, toasted
• 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh horseradish
• Put the tomatillos in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely pureed. Remove the tomatillo puree to a sieve, drain off the liquid and discard. Put the drained puree in a bowl and stir in the vinegar, sugar, hot sauce, garlic, mustard seeds, and horseradish.

BAKED OYSTERS WITH CRAB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the cream cheese, Parmesan, crabmeat, salt, pepper, garlic powder, shallot, bacon, and basil.
• Place the oysters on a baking sheet and spoon the mixture onto the oysters in the half shell, putting a generous rounded mound of topping on each.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes until the topping is bubbly and browned. Serve immediately.