Steak Oscar Then Crab Cakes - Both Semi-Failures

It’s hard to believe I built this meal this way but we had some asparagus in the fridge that needed to be used and Bev thought about Steak Oscar which sounded good to me.  I steamed the asparagus, nuked the crab meat just a little, and the steaks just got S&P for seasoning before cooking them reverse sear in a 225F oven then searing them in a smoking hot skillet.  I used the recipe for Easy Bearnaise Sauce from the “All Recipe” blog but I tried a short cut method by putting everything in a container and using the immersion blender to whip it up.

To assemble the dish, plate the steaks then top with asparagus, crab, and bearnaise.

The benefits of the reverse sear method can clearly be seen as the steak is medium rare for all but a little on the outside.

Compared to this one from the web titled “the Perfect Medium Rare Steak”

The Verdict:

It took 50 minutes for the steak to reach an internal temp of 125F in the oven and it was perfectly cooked for us and tasted delicious but my short cut bearnaise was a failure as it tasted good but would not thicken.  Oh well, it was still a good meal and reverse sear is the way to go if you have the time. They can be finish seared in a hot pan or on a hot grill.  This will be my last Steak Oscar as I prefer the beef with Montreal Steak Seasoning or soaked in the Best Steak Marinade in Existence, the asparagus beside it, and the crab by itself or as cakes.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Since I had lots of crab left from the Steak Oscar, the next day, I turned it into crab cakes buy adapting the recipe for Maryland Crab Cakes from the “Ask Chef Dennis” blog by reducing it for my ¾ lb. of crab meat and I fried rather than bake them (Bev’s request).

Ingredients:

¾ pound jumbo lump crab meat

1 large egg

¼ scant cup mayonnaise

¾ teaspoon dijon mustard

¾ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¾ teaspoon fresh lemon juice plus more for serving

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped

½ cup cracker crumbs I made mine in the food processor - about 12 saltines.

Instructions:

Place the mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, and parsley in a small bowl.

Whisk the ingredients together to completely incorporate the egg into the mixture.

Mix in the cracker crumbs.

Fold the crab into the mixture being careful not to break up the crab meat.

Cover the crab meat mixture and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Divide the crab cake mixture into six portions. Form crabcakes into round slightly flattened cakes. Do not flatten them too much.

Place the crabcakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake the crabcakes for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Fry the crab cakes in 350F oil until golden brown.

Serve the crabcakes with your choice of cocktail sauce or tarter sauce and a wedge of fresh lemon (we used remoulade sauce).

The Verdict:

The crabcakes tasted very good but I made a big mistake frying them.  They had so little filler they didn’t want to stay together and the oil popped something terrible due to the moisture in the crab.  So, I would use the recipe again but would absolutely bake them and sacrifice the crispy crust - Bev agrees.

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

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

Larry

8/31 & 9/1/24 meal dates