My second complaint about restaurant crab cakes is the seasoning. I could strangle whomever invented Old Bay! Seafood cooks of the world, Old Bay is an extremely powerful seasoning mix that needs to be used in infinitesimal increments, because adding one iota too much ruins the taste of the food you were trying to enhance with it.

This recipe is perfect, to me. First, it has absolutely NO breading! It is bound by a small amount of mayo, eggs, a little coconut flour and the secret ingredient:  steamed cauliflower! It uses only a reasonable amount of Old Bay (see Quick Tip to make your own). I would add ¼ teaspoon of it, to start and gingerly add more after tasting.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. crab meat, cooked

1 cup cauliflower florets, steamed well

2 pastured eggs

3 Tbsp. coconut flour

3 Tbsp. Primal Kitchen Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

½ tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning

2 Tbsp. avocado oil or coconut oil

 

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, add the steamed cauliflower. Gently break up into small pieces, mashing some. Leave some pieces intact for texture.

Add the crab meat and parsley. Gently fold the mixture to distribute the ingredients evenly without breaking up the crab too much.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, Old Bay and salt. Pour over the crab meat mixture and gently fold.

Now sift the coconut flour over the crab and gently fold the mixture until everything is uniform. The coconut flour is what helps give these cakes that crispy-golden crust.

Transfer to the fridge to chill and firm up – about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove crab mixture from fridge and form into patties. I made mine about 2 inches thick and 3 inches in diameter.

Heat oil in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add the crab cakes, being careful to not overcrowd the pan (this will cause steaming, not searing). Cook about 3 minutes to golden brown, then flip and cook another 3 minutes.

Place pan-fried crab cakes on a baking sheet and transfer to the preheated oven to cook through (12 to 15 minutes)

Serve with fresh lemon wedges and Paleo mayo

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Quick Tip:  Homemade “New Bay” recipe (makes appx 1/3 cup – combine thoroughly and store in airtight container):  1 Tbsp. celery salt, 2 tsp dry mustard, 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp sweet or smoky paprika (your preference), 1 tsp ground black pepper, ½ tsp bay leaf powder, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground allspice, ½ tsp ground mace, ½ tsp ground cardamom, and ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes. You will find this to be a much lighter seasoning mix and much more palatable for use with seafood, but still, use it sparingly and to taste (recipe courtesy of Diane Whitbeck)

Recipe and photo courtesy of Kelley Herring at the Healing Gourmet