Good Time Eating Crab Cakes

Now this is what I'm talking about. You got lump blue crab in here…not filler, not mystery seafood, actual crab. That's confidence. Fresh sweet corn, red pepper, scallions, jalapeño, parsley, lemon zest... every ingredient's bringing something to the party. Nobody's standing around awkwardly by the punch bowl. Whoa. Okay, now you've got stone-ground mustard, Worcestershire, chili garlic sauce, fish sauce, crème fraîche, mayonnaise...this thing has more layers than my dating strategy. And miso and Old Bay breadcrumbs? That's genius. It's got that crispy, salty, savory crunch that makes you wonder why all crab cakes don't do this. Oh, and then the caper remoulade shows up late, steals the spotlight, and somehow makes everybody else look better. The arugula underneath keeps it fresh, the crab stays the star, and the whole thing feels classy without being pretentious. This is the kind of food that convinces people you're more sophisticated than you actually are. Which, coincidentally, is one of my favorite kinds of food.

Ingredients

for eight cakes

  • 1/2 lb lump crab

  • 1/2 red pepper

  • 1 jalapeño

  • 1 ear corn

  • 3 scallions

  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

  • 1 lemon

  • 1 tbs stone ground mustard

  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tsp chili garlic sauce

  • 1 tsp fish sauce

  • 1/4 cup crème fraîche

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise (plus 1/2 cup more)

  • 1 tsp miso dashi

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 tbs Old Bay seasoning

  • 4 cups fresh bread crumbs

  • 1 cup olive oil (plus 1/4 cup more)

  • 1 cup flour

  • 2 tbs capers

  • 1 tsp Sriracha

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp onion powder

  • 1 tsp mustard powder

  • 1 tsp ketchup

  • 2 tbs horseradish

  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt

  • 8 cup arugula

  • 1 tbs flake salt

Directions

  1. Remove the corn from the cob, chop the red pepper and scallion, dice the jalapeño, and add to a large bowl with the crab, parsley, zest from the lemon, stone ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili garlic sauce, fish sauce, creme fraîche, mayonnaise, one egg beaten, and 1 cup fresh bread crumbs. Gently fold together to combine.

  2. Set up a breading station with the flour, remaing egg beaten with miso dashi, and bread crumbs seasoned with Old Bay. Form eight equal sized crab cakes with the crab mixture. Coat each in flour, then the egg and miso mixture, and finally the seasoned bread crumbs.

  3. Heat 1 cup of the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add the crab cakes and cook 3-4 minutes per side.

  4. Chop the capers and add to a small bowl, combine with Sriracha, onion powder, garlic powder, horseradish, ketchup, back pepper, salt, juice from half the lemon, and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Stir to combine.

  5. Toss the arugula with the remaining juice from half the lemon and 1/4 cup olive oil. Plate and season with flake salt. Place crab cakes over arugula and drizzle on remoulade sauce.

  6. Serve.

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