Dungeness Crab Cakes With Green Cocktail Sauce Recipes

DUNGENESS CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Cook the shallots: Heat one tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallots and a half teaspoon of salt. Cook until the shallots are translucent, a couple minutes. Do not brown. Let the shallots cool.
• Chill: Cover the crab cakes loosely with another sheet of wax paper and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

PIER 23 DUNGENESS CRAB CAKE

Steps:

• For the pickled celery: Stir together the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Add celery sticks, as many as can be covered with the solution. Cover and let cool 1 hour.
• For the crab cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl add hot sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon zest and juice. Mix thoroughly. Add scallion, parsley and 2 tablespoons finely chopped pickled celery (save the remainder for another use). Mix to incorporate. Add 1/2 cup panko. Mix.
• Add 1 pound crab meat, being careful not to break apart too much.
• Place the egg white and remaining 1/2 pound crab meat into a blender. Blend on high, until a smooth paste is achieved. Transfer to the bowl with the crab mixture.
• Mix to incorporate all. (Mixture should hold together when squeezed in hand. If very wet, add more panko.) Divide evenly into four portions and form into patties. Gently coat in the remaining panko. Set aside until ready to cook.
• Heat oil in an oven-safe saute pan until hot. Carefully add crab cakes to pan. Sear until well browned, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip and sear other side, 1 to 2 minutes more.
• Transfer pan to oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place crab cakes on a paper towel-lined plate.
• In mixing bowl, mix lettuces and Pepitas with champagne vinaigrette. Spoon 2 tablespoons Mustard Crema onto a serving plate. Divide salad among plates.
• Top each with crab cakes. Serve with lemon wedges.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with oil and salt. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Mix mascarpone, mustard and lemon zest and juice in a bowl until well mixed. Thin with heavy cream until desired consistency. (It should be spreadable and smooth.) Season with salt to taste. Reserve cold until ready to serve.

BOILED DUNGENESS CRAB WITH HOMEMADE COCKTAIL SAUCE

Steps:

• For the cocktail sauce: Combine the chili sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Chill until serving.
• For the crab: Drop both whole live crabs in a large pot of salted boiling water. Let cook until the shells turn a bright red, 10 to 15 minutes. Be aware that the meat cooks very fast once exposed to the hot water. Remove the crabs from the water and pull the main shell off. If this is difficult, insert a large knife between the shells in the back of the crab where they meet and pry open. Once the top shell is removed, rinse the crab in the sink, cut in half (from front to back, not side to side) and peel off the gills (which are attached to the bottom portion) and discard. Clean out all entrails and other waste from the top shell portion. Place on a plate with the lemon and lime slices, and place the top shell back on top for presentation. Serve with the cocktail sauce.

DUNGENESS CRAB CAKES WITH GREEN COCKTAIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the cocktail sauce: put tomatillos in a food processor; process until coarsely pureed.
• Remove the puree into a sieve; drain off the liquid, and discard.
• Put the drained puree into a small bowl and stir in the vinegar, sugar, Tabasco, garlic, mustard seeds, and horseradish until combined (the cocktail sauce can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator).
• Make the mayonnaise: tear up the white bread and pulse the pieces in a food processor to make fine, soft crumbs (should have about 6 cups crumbs).
• Remove bread crumbs to a shallow pan; mix in ½ cup chopped parsley; set aside.
• In a food processor, combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, mustard, paprika, thyme, celery seeds, and black pepper; pulse to combine.
• With the motor running, slowly add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream until the mixture emulsifies and forms a mayonnaise; remove mayonnaise from the food processor and refrigerate.
• Place crabmeat in a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl; pull the cheesecloth tightly around the crabmeat and squeeze out as much juice as possible.
• Put the chopped onions and bell peppers in a sieve over a bowl and use your hands to squeeze out as much juice as possible.
• In a big bowl, combine the onions and bell peppers with the remaining ¼ cup parsley; add in the chilled mayonnaise and crabmeat; toss lightly to combine.
• Add 1 cup of the breadcrumb mixture and combine.
• Do not overwork the mixture or the crabcakes may get gummy.
• Gently form 8 patties and roll the patties lightly in the remaining breadcrumb mixture.
• Leave the crabcakes in the pan of bread crumbs until you saute them.
• Preheat the oven to 425°; using a nonstick saute pan and butter as needed, panfry the crabcakes, in batches, until golden brown on both sides and place them on a baking sheet as they are browned.
• When all the crabcakes are browned, put them in the oven until they are heated all the way through, 5-8 minutes.
• To plate: serve one crabcake as an appetizer or two as an entree; serve with a ramekin of cocktail sauce and a lemon wedge.
• **Note-the crabcakes actually hold together better if prepared a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator before cooking; store them in the pan of breadcrumbs, covering with plastic wrap.
• Wine suggestion-a lightly oaked Chardonnay.