Text 3400, 101 rader
Skriven 2013-08-11 01:16:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: ultimate crab cakes 2
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Some more tips and tricks:

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Kenji's Crab Cake Tips  Part 2
Categories: crab, info
  Servings: 1 text file

           crab

Pasty Patties

I tried it, forming patties bound with just a touch of mayo and an
egg, freezing them, then breading them and shallow frying in some
butter and oil in a cast iron skillet.

The crab cakes were great, the best yet, but the thick coating of
bread crumbs was distracting. For my next attempt, I made a new set
of patties, this time shaping them into neater, tighter cakes by
forming them inside ring molds (I also tried forming them in rings
made of aluminum foil, which worked just as well) before freezing
them.

After frozen, I popped them out and breaded just one side in bread
crumbs. That way, I figured, I'd get the best of both worlds: the
bread crumbs will add some crunch and keep the cake from completely
falling apart as it cooks, while the rest of the cake will be naked
crab.

Frozen Fun

Everything seemed to be going fine as I slipped the breaded cakes
into the skillet bread-side-down, but as they slowly thawed, they
gradually fell apart. I was left with lose crab meat sauteed in
butter along with an intact disk of fried breadcrumbs. I tossed it
with pasta and called it dinner, then got back to work.

My final plan: Why bother removing the aluminum foil rings from the
cakes after freezing them? I made a new batch of crab mixture, froze
it in foil rings, then breaded one side of the cakes without
removing the foil before slipping it into the hot butter in the
skillet.

Only after the crab cakes cooked long enough to hold themselves
together did I then carefully peel off the foil. I held my breath as
I watched them cook, then mentally* high-fived myself when they did.

Foiled Again!

That is, they did until I tried to flip them. Even with a gently
metal fish spatula, turning them without breaking them apart turned
out to be a tough task. Not impossible, but tough.

Butter Up!

The solution turned out to be using a hybrid cooking method:
Starting the crab cakes in a hot skillet with butter to crisp up the
bread crumb layer, carefully peeling off the foil, then spooning
some of the browned butter over the top of the crab cakes to
lubricate them and baste them before popping the whole thing under
the broiler.

Golden Delicious

With the aid of the browned butter, the broiled side of the crab
cakes brown beautifully, while the bread crumb layer gets
ultra-crisp as it continues to cook as the tops brown.

Crisp and Crunchy

The cakes that emerge from the oven are everything I want in a crab
cake. A crisp, golden layer of crunch that doesn't overwhelm the
crab underneath, and a crab filling that is really made of crab,
absolutely no starchy fillers at all. All of this with the buttery,
golden crust you get from the best naked-pan-fried crab cakes.

One Last Trick

The only issue with the recipe is that if you plan on making more
than a few cakes, it can be a bit tedious to for all of the little
foil rings and stuff them with crab. Mush more efficient is to use
the method that Heston Blumenthal uses to form his hamburger
patties: Form the crab mixture into a large log wrapped in aluminum
foil, partially freeze the whole thing, then slice it into disks
with a knife.

Slice'em All

After slicing, the disks stay nicely intact with perfectly fitted
foil liners, ready to bread and fry.
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

YK Jim


... You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.

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