Crab Cakes
Ingredients
- 6 Tbs. butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
- 2 lbs. lump crabmeat
- 1/3 finely-chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
- 2 tsp. Creole seasoning
- 2 oz. clarified butter
- White remoulade sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbs. Creole mustard
- 1 Tbs. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire
- Dash Tabasco
- 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
Instructions
- 1
Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the salt, white pepper, and flour and make a blond roux. Whisk in the milk until the blend has the texture of very light mashed potatoes. Cool to room temperature. (You have just made a béchamel.)
- 2
Pick crabmeat of any shells, trying to keep the lumps as whole as possible. Combine it in a large bowl with bell pepper, green onion, and tarragon. Add a scant cup of the cooled béchamel. Mix everything well with your fingers, being careful not to break the crabmeat.
- 3
Season the bread crumbs with Creole seasoning, and spread them on a plate. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop up balls of the crabmeat mixture. Gently form them into cakes about three-fourths of an inch thick. Press them gently onto the bread crumbs on each side, and shake off the excess crumbs.
- 4
Heat the clarified butter in a skillet. Sauté crab cakes until golden brown on the outside and heated all the way through. (The way to test this is to push the tines of a kitchen fork into the center of the cake, then touch the fork to your lips. That will tell you whether the heat has penetrated all the way through.)
- 5
Mix all ingredients for the white remoulade and serve with the crab cakes.