Crabcakes with Lemon Dill Sauce

I. Love. Crabcakes. Like, seriously love them. I think they are the perfect food, and they let me indulge in one of my favorite seafoods! After having a few not-so-awesome crabcakes here and there (too much breading, not enough crab, bland, etc). These crabcakes are my attempt to make a better crabcake at home. Sweet crab, crunchy veggies, and a thoughtful blend of seasonings make these crabcakes close to perfect. The trick is using fresh, lump crab meat. Yes, it is a little expensive, but this recipe makes around 15 cakes and can be used for several meals, or it will feed several people for dinner - just serve alongside a fresh salad and you're good to go! Enjoy :o)

Crabcakes with Lemon Dill Sauce

Yield: 15 crabcakes

Crabcake Ingredients

1 lb lump crabmeat, picked through (the fresher the better!)

2 green onions, minced 

2 tbsp. celery, minced

2 tbsp. red bell pepper, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp. parsley, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

cayenne pepper to taste
2 tbsp. heavy cream

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

1 egg

1 cup panko breadcrumbs, divided

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 tbsp. butter, divided

canola oil

In a medium bowl, pick through the lump crab for shells, being careful not to break up the lumps too much.

In a small skillet, melt 1 tbsp. butter. Saute the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic over medium low heat until softened. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, mustard, cream, parsley, salt, and cayenne pepper. When vegetables are softened, turn off the heat and mix in the egg and cream mixture. Stir quickly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add the vegetable and egg mixture, as well as 1/2 cup of the panko, to the crab and fold in gently to combine. In a shallow bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup panko and the parmesan cheese. Form the crab mixture into 12-15 patties* and coat in the panko and cheese mixture. At this point you can freeze crabcakes on a plate then put in an airtight container. Defrost before cooking. To cook the crabcakes, heat a small amount of butter and oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Sautee the crabcakes for 2-4 minutes per side until they have a golden brown crust. Serve with a drizzle of lemon-dill sauce (recipe below).

Lemon-Dill Sauce Ingredients

3 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. dill, chopped (fresh or dried both work well)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix together all ingredients. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving.

* Variations:

Make mini crabcakes by putting crabcake mixture into a mini-cupcake pan sprayed well with no-stick spray. Makes a great appetizer! Another great finger food is stuffed mushrooms - remove stems from large, white-button mushrooms and fill with some of the crabcake mixture. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes until mushrooms are slightly softened. Yum!