I’ve got some tinned crab knocking about, and I’m thinking cakey thoughts.
You may scorn the use of tinned stuff, but, well, desperate times call for desperate measures.
I’ll definitely be able to improvise - I’ve made hundreds of fishcake type things in the past - but who’s got suggestions, recipes, hints, tips, advice, etc?
By the way: well stocked pantry but UK based, so any “it’s not a crabcake without Old Bay” (or similar) comments will not help! I’ve dozens of herbs and spices (some of which are seasoning mixes, most are simply herbs and spices) and lots of sauces, oils, vinegars, etc, etc…
Got any leftover mashed potatoes? I’ve used canned salmon and left over mashed plus an egg with some parsley and dill. Coat with egg and breadcrumbs. Now I wanna try this with canned crabs.
P.S., we don’t get to eat this often because we rarely have left over mashed potatoes and even less often do we have any canned salmon. But when the stars align exactly. . …
Lump crabmeat is considered the best, but claw meat is still flavorful. Avoid breaking up the meat in the cake, just fold it into the crumb mixture. If you bake or broil them the cake doesn’t have to hold together all that well. If you want to fry them you need to keep it a little wetter. I generally mix an egg into half mayo half sour cream mixture, stir in the bread crumbs (soft torn up bread, a little fine crumb to help it hold together), and then fold in the crab meat. If baking or broiling butter the top to get good browning. Also, don’t make them too thick or you’ll end up overcooking them before the center is hot. My personal preference is to fry them and make sandwiches.
The tradition is to serve them with Cajun Remoulade sauce, which is a little different from traditional French remoulade.
Nothing wrong with crab meat in the can, picking it yourself is a pain, and it’s not widely available fresh. Outside of crab areas like Baltimore Maryland most restaurants use canned crab meat. I will point out there have been quality and safety issues in the past couple of years for non-pasteurized crabmeat, some of it related to recent anti-immigration efforts. Domestic crab production is down so much more is coming in from abroad.
I rarely have leftover mash either, but if I’m boiling a gammon joint I do: I make too much on purpose (with green onions fried in the butter before stirring in the spuds) in order to make a similar thing as you describe but with shredded gammon.
This recipe mentions tuna, but I bet it would work great with crab as well. I’ve been making this more than usual since it uses mainly pantry staples.
Tuna Croquettes
1 family-size (11-ounce) pouch albacore tuna, drained well (canned is fine too)
2 green onions, chopped fine
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I really like mustard so I usually use more)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
Olive oil, for sauteing
Dry the tuna as much as possible (try placing on a paper towel and put another paper towel on top with a weight to squeeze the liquid out) and then separate it with a fork.
Place the tuna, onions, mustard, eggs, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs into a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 6 rounds and set aside on a parchment lined pan. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes - chilling helps the mixture hold together. Sprinkle a light coating of panko on the top of the croquettes; using a spatula, carefully flip them over and sprinkle remaining panko on top and pat down.
Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Use the spatula to carefully transfer croquettes to pan. Add the croquettes and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove to a plate covered with paper towels. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.
I pretty much stumbled across this (minus the crumbs) as a student when intending to make a tuna-and-stuff-that-needed-using omelette and realising after I’d mixed stuff together that I only had one egg left, but mustard has never featured despite the countless variations it’s had in the last 20-something years. Not an terrible idea though…
I’d be tempted to swap the mustard for horseradish or wasabi paste if you have it. I love mustard, I just think the tang of the horseradish would work better in this instance.
romansperson, your Tuna croquettes recipe is one that I used to make a lot for my kids but with a 14 oz can of pink salmon instead of tuna. I think that I found the recipe in a cookbook with healthy recipes for pregnant women, Eating Expectantly. The kids called them “crabby patties”, after Spongebob.
Whilst I do agree with you re: tinned crabmeat (crabcakes are ideal use for it), it’s worth noting that the OP is in the UK, where we don’t have much trouble getting fresh crabs. At least in normal times.
Aye. In my hometown there’s a well renowned seafood store, and my wife normally works in Leeds, whose market is very near her office and has a fair number of fishmongers. And although I live reasonably far inland by local reckoming, I’m still only about 60 miles from the coast. I can pop over to Whitby or Scarborough and pick up some crabs, should the mood really take me!
It’s an odd thing we have. Here in New England there are plenty of seafood stores, but for many crabs are a hit or miss option, yet sometimes you can buy lobsters at the gas station. The central US, far from the coasts still has plenty of seafood some locales and nothing in others. On the west coast they mine Dungeness crabs from the sea floor, those are big and meaty and were readily available there whenever I’ve been. But here on the east coast it’s mainly small blue crabs that are delicious, you can trap them yourself in many places, but they’ll likely by small and a pain to pick the meat out of.
Of course if you’re ever in the Baltimore Maryland area there’s little to eat except crabs. Well, I suppose there is if you want to waste your time eating other things, but you can stuff yourself with crabs starting in the airport and getting crab dishes at virtually every restaurant.
We’ve followed the advice of America’s Test Kitchen and soaked the tinned crab in milk for a couple hours–gets rid of the “fishy” flavor and makes it much sweeter. The dog considers crabby milk a special treat…
I wonder what you have and how it was packed. The quality white lump back meat should already be sweet and have no fishy taste. Is the crab packed in brine? Is the meat white? The claw meat has a stronger kind of flavor, I wouldn’t call it fishy maybe, just crabbier. Do you know what kind of crabs were used? I’m genuinely curious about these things.