Crab Cakes and Low Country Boil For Four

Last summer we went to an outdoor concert at some people’s home and ran into a guy that I had worked with at Alcoa but had not seen in 20 years and I promised I would get us together in 2022 after hip surgery recovery and this was finally the day.  I wanted to have a seafood medley in the air-conditioned house but “the boss” wanted to have low country boil on the dock and she balked when I suggested we could make it in the air-conditioned kitchen – “it has to be done outside on the dock.”

Unfortunately, I got so busy visiting and cooking that I took only a couple of pics.

We hadn’t had crab cakes in a while so we decided to have them for an appetizer and we used the recipe from Once Upon A Chef which is very similar to others I had seen. 

Maryland Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

2½ tablespoons mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's

1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup finely diced celery, from one stalk

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 pound lump crab meat (see note below)

½ cup panko

Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking

Note: Food City had claw meat for $24/lb, special crab meat for $28/lb, and lump crab meat for $40/lb.  Even though lump or jumbo lump is what they use on the cooking shows, I could not bring myself to buy it so I used the middle one which was basically shredded meat.

Ingredients:

1. Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well.

2. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat.

3. Shape into 6 cakes (each about ½ cup) and place on the prepared baking sheet.   Larry made them early in the day, portioned them with an ice cream scoop then flattened.

4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps them set.

5. Larry used a 12” cast iron skillet and an induction burner set on level 3 to cook the crab cakes.

6. When the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

7. Larry served the crab cakes with the tartar and remoulade sauces.

For topping the crab cake sauces, I made some tartar sauce using the recipe from Ina Garten and I made some remoulade sauce using the recipe below which we have made in the past.

Remoulade Sauce

Ingredients:

1¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup Heinz cocktail sauce

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp prepared horseradish

¼ cup celery, finely chopped

2 tbsp dill pickle, finely chopped

1 tbsp capers, finely chopped

2 green onions, minced

1 tsp fresh tarragon (1/3 tsp dried)

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 dash cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate at least one hour.

Low Country Boil For Four

We have previously made this meal for somewhere between 10 and 20 or more but this is the first time making it for just four diners so I wanted to document the recipe for the next time.  For sauces for the shrimp we added some Ina Garten Cocktail Sauce to the ones we had for the crab cakes.

Low Country Boil For Four

Ingredients:

5 quarts water

¼ cup Zatarain’s Pro Boil (or your favorite shrimp flavoring)

12 small potatoes

16 oz Kielbasa, cut into 1½ inch pieces

5 ears corn - husked, cleaned and halved

2 pounds large shrimp

Directions:

1. Bring water and seasoning to boil in a large stockpot.  

2. Add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. 

3. Add sausage and cook for 10 minutes more. 

4. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes. 

5. Turn off heat, stir in the shrimp, and cover pot until shrimp are pink, 3-4 minutes. 

6. Drain immediately and serve.

We went for the full experience so we covered the table in butcher paper and dumped the food on it and ate on the paper as well - makes the clean up so easy.

The Verdict:

While the crab cakes were not as impressive looking as those made with lump, like these from the web,

they were a big hit and our guest said they were as good as those from her favorite Florida restaurant.  My cooking method did not work well as it did not want to cook the outsides of the cakes so I won’t try the induction cooker again with a 12” skillet.  The low country boil was delicious as always and we even found some good corn at the grocery store - our local isn't in yet.

And the meal was topped off with a couple bowls of homemade strawberry-banana ice cream provided by our guests and it may have been the best I've ever eaten.

Of course, the evening highlight was catching up with the career and plant happenings of someone I had worked with for several years and he worked 15 years longer than me.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

06/20/22 event date