In Search of American Cuisine - Maryland

I’ve been to Maryland a few times in my life. The first time was when I was 10 years old. Of course at that age, I was not able to experience all of the great things about the state. Maryland’s largest city is Baltimore. In 1814 the British attempted to capture Baltimore. While the British bombarded Fort McHenry, a man named Francis Scott Key observed, and was inspired to write the words of “The Star Spangled Banner”. Maryland is also the home of the U.S. Navel Academy, located in Annapolis, Maryland. Our nations Capital is located on land that was ceded by Maryland.

Maryland also has one of the largest waterfronts of any state. This is pretty amazing considering the size of the state. Baltimore ranks as the nations second largest port. Maryland’s eastern and western shore surround the Chesapeake Bay, which produces more seafood than any other comparable body of water. Whether it’s oysters, crabs, clams, or Fin fish, this area is a Seafood Factory.

As I got older, I was able to visit Maryland a few more times. These times I was able to experience amazing food that I missed out on when I was 10. As my eyes began to open or I should say my taste buds, I realized that this particular type of food group is readily available throughout the country, and is very popular. Talk about living in a cave!

When people think of foods from Maryland, they of course think of Seafood. But there is one type of Seafood that is synonymous with Maryland. More important the way to prepare this type of seafood has become the trademark of the state, when it comes to food.

This food of course is….

CRAB CAKES


If you like Crab, you probably have had a Crab Cake. If you haven’t, you are missing out on one of the most delicious items ever put on a plate. That being said, if you have been fortunate to have tasted this wonder, chances are its been in a restaurant. Depending on where you live in the country, this could really make a difference in your impression of this very simple, but very tasty treat.

You see, unless you’re in Maryland, with the exception of a few restaurants in the country, the importance has become what is mixed with the crab, instead of the crab itself. Whether it crackers, big chunks of onions, or any other filling, the focus has become all the other ingredients besides the CRAB!

The reason for this is simple. Crab can be expensive, unless you live near the source. But don’t worry. This recipe, is not only economical, but is true the standards that made this creation so great.

The secret is your selection of crab. But more importantly, how you prepare it. Obviously, anyone’s first choice would be to use fresh crab. Another real challenge is deciding what type of crab to use. Sounds like a lot of decisions to make for such a simple dish. So lets keep it simple.

I actually like Dungeness Crab, but because we want to stay true to the region, we are using Lump Crab for this recipe. You’ll notice that I didn’t say Blue Crab. That’s because 95% of all Blue Crab Americans consume, don’t originate from this country anymore. If you live in Maryland, feel free to use Blue Crab. The rest of us will look for Lump Crab, which is basically the same thing. This Crab can be found in many Major Super Market chains. The Crab- meat comes in one pound cans, found in the refrigerated Seafood Section. I know that Fresh Crab would always work best, but the chore involved cooking and then removing meat from crab shells can somewhat be over bearing… And to be honest, that is a lot of work for not that much more reward.

In the preparation the real big secret is to not over stir your crab. You don't want shredded crab.

I mentioned that for this recipe we are focusing on the crab. You’ll notice that there aren’t as many ingredients as you would think. This is great as it keeps the recipe really simple, and that’s what we’re looking for. I’ve come across a few recipes for Crab Cakes that I just love. I took the best of each, experimented, and came up this recipe, which is pretty good.

The best way to prepare this recipe, is to use a food processor. If you don’t have one don’t worry, you can use a whisk. It’s a little more work but you come out with the same great tasting Crab. You will also need a large rubber spatula and 2 mixing bowls.

So lets get to it.

RECIPE

1 Pound can of Lump Crab Meat - I use “Phillips”
1 Egg Yolk
1 Tablespoon “Old Bay” Seasoning *
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice ( ½ Lemon Squeezed)
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
2 Stalks Celery ( Diced ¼ inch)
1 Teaspoon Cider Vinegar
½ Cup Peanut Oil ( Canola Oil can be substituted)
¼ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
¼ Teaspoon Worcestershire
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
3 Cups Seasoned Bread Crumbs
2 Lemons
1 Prepackaged Bag of Mixed Greens
1 jar of your favorite Red Cocktail sauce



PREPARATION


Drain and Crab Meat and place in Large Mixing Bowl. Carefully pick through meat for any shells. You can Break up crab slightly but not too much. You don’t want your crab to be shredded. Set aside

In a small or medium sized Food Processor, add Egg Yolk, Old Bay Seasoning, Onion Powder, Lemon Juice, Dijon Mustard, Cider Vinegar, and Worcestershire. Blend until smooth.

Once smooth, add Oil to Food Processor while running. Blend until it begins to look like a mayonnaise. Add Salt , and Pepper to mixture.

Transfer Mixture to a bowl and carefully FOLD in the Crab Meat and Celery using a rubber spatula. This is critical. DO NOT over stir the Crab Meat into the mixture. This will cause the mix to break apart when forming the cakes.

In a separate casserole dish Add 2 Cups of Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Once Mixture is combined, form 8 - 3 inch wide cakes with mixture. About ½ to ¾ inch thick.

Place Cakes in Bread Crumbs.

Add remaining Bread Crumbs on top of Crab Cakes.

With your hands carefully make sure all sides of the cakes are covered and then cover dish with Plastic wrap.

Place container in refrigerator and leave for at least one hour. This is important to firm up the cakes. The longer you can leave the container in the refrigerator the more firm the cakes will be.

*Be sure not to leave the container in refrigerator for more than 12 hours, because of the raw Egg Yolk

When ready to cook, heat up a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add ½ stick of butter. Once melted, place 4 crab cakes in pan. Fry until each side is brown and crispy. About 2-3 Minutes on each side . Only turn once.

Transfer fried crab cakes to lightly greased cookie sheet. Add remaining butter to skillet and repeat process with remaining Crab Cakes.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Once all cakes have been fried and placed on Cookie Sheet, place in oven for 3-5 minutes. Do not over cook.

Remove and serve over mixed greens with lemon wedges and Cocktail sauce.

Many people like Tartar Sauce but because there is already mayonnaise in the Crab Cakes, Cocktail sauce is a nice contrast and really brings out the all the flavors.

Makes 8 and Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Please be sure to Vote your opinion up in the left hand corner of the Web page. As always, if you have a Crab Cake recipe to share, please forward along and I’ll be sure to post it.

Next Week we head to the State of New York.