Let Them Eat Crab Cakes!

It’s
finally summer, and if you’re not currently planning a lovely beach vacation to the Gulf Coast you can
create one in your own kitchen! Simply crank up some New Orleans jazz and start cooking these tasty crab cakes, courtesy of seafood chef Irv Miller of Jackson’s Restaurant in Pensacola, Florida. We just chowed down on these delicious bites at an event for Pensacola Celebrity Chefs at
the James Beard House here in the city. —

Parents, if you’re worried about damage from last summer’s Gulf oil
spill on the area’s seafood, you can rest easy – seafood from the Gulf has
been tested by scientists, federal agencies and universities and has come up
clean. Gulf Coast seafood makes up 25 percent of the
seafood found in the States, so pick some up next time you’re in the mood for
something fishy – like these yummy crab cakes. They combine all the flavors of Pensacola and the Gulf Coast: local seafood, the American South’s
flair for creamy textures, and a twinge of Spanish-influenced spice. So introduce your family to good southern cooking and let these
crab cakes whisk you away to a world of sun, sand and safe, delicious seafood.

CRAB CAKES

Makes 4-5 cakes

Ingredients

1 pound fresh jumbo lump blue
crab
4 tablespoons red sweet pepper,
diced fine
4 tablespoons red onion, diced
fine
2 tablespoons Coleman’s dry
mustard
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce
2 ounces heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1/2 cup seasoned Italian bread
crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Remove any cartilage from the
crabmeat. Do not break up lump crab. Heat small-sized sauté pan over
medium heat and add butter. When butter begins to bubble,
add the diced peppers and onions. Sauté until tender; about two minutes. Transfer sautéed peppers and
onions to a plate to cool. Place picked crabmeat in a
large-sized mixing bowl. In a separate medium-sized
mixing bowl, whisk the egg to blend, then add the whipping cream, cooled
peppers, Old Bay seasoning, Louisiana hot sauce, and dry mustard.
Blend evenly. Pour this mixture over the
crabmeat and delicately toss to blend. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over
the mixture and gently toss again to blend. Let mixture sit for 30 minutes. Form into delicate mounds of 3
or 4 ounce patties. Preheat a sauté pan or griddle
on medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of oil and
small piece of butter. Combine flour, salt and pepper
mixture, then lightly dust the crab cakes. Sauté about 3 minutes on each
side until golden brown and firm.

Enjoy!

For more
recipes, check out pensacolacelebritychefs.com.