We ran Mike Kelly’s crab cake recipe last week and he asked if people had a better recipe, he’d like to see it.
Within a few hours of publication, my phone had a message from Robert Mahaffy of Coos Bay. A day later, Mr. Mahaffy dropped his favorite recipe off at our office.
His story doesn’t date back 50 years, but he thought Mr. Kelly might like to try this recipe he clipped out of a newspaper almost 14 years ago.
He wrote: “These crab cakes don’t present as well as others, but at least they taste good. There’s actually some crab in them; not mixed with sawdust like most of the others. I have served these to many people with discriminating palates and they rave about them.”
Here’s the recipe:
Rachel’s crab cakes
2 pounds crab meat, picked over for shells
1 small onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided (see note).
Preheat the over to 150 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine the crab meat, onion, flour, eggs and lemon juice. Form the mixture into eight 31/2-inch-by-1-inch-thick crab cakes.
In a 10- to 12-inch skilled, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Cook four cakes at a time, four minutes per side. They should be nicely browned on both sides and heated through.
Keep the four cooked cakes warm in the oven while you prepare the remaining four. Use additional butter for the second batch.
Note: Although the flavor will be affected, you can substitute a nonstick pan or cooking spray for the butter.
Makes 8 cakes.
This recipe is credited to Rachel Starr from the Sept. 15, 1996 edition of The Oregonian.
If you have a crab cake recipe, or any other crab recipes, you would like to share with Cuisine readers, please e-mail the recipes to food@theworldlink.com or mail them to Cuisine, P.O. Box 1840, Coos Bay, OR, 97420. Please include a phone number in case there are any questions.
This weekend
The Quick Fire Challenge to benefit the North Bend High School ProStart program will be Sunday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Salmon Room at The Mill Hotel-Casino. The NBHS team will take on the Boys and Girls Club Junior Chefs program. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Cheesecake isn’t a terribly difficult dessert, it just requires a bit of attention to detail. This recipe is perfect for those that love sweet-tart desserts. It has a classic graham cracker crust and a rich and creamy berry cheesecake, all topped with a sweet-tart blackberry lime curd.
