Recipe - Mexican Crab Cakes

3 Whole Dungeness Crabs;
(about 6 pounds), or 1 1/2
pounds picked over crabmeat
2 lg Eggs
1 cup Sour cream
2 Poblano chiles; stemmed,
seeded, and finely minced
1 Yellow bell pepper; stemmed,
seeded, and finely minced
1 Rib celery; finely minced
Three fourths teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoon Unsalted butter
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
Mint and Parsley Salad; (for
serving, recipe attached)

TOO HOT TAMALES SHOW #TH6206

In a very large stockpot, bring about 6 quarts water to a boil. Plunge the
crabs headfirst into the water, and cook for 12 minutes from the time the
water returns to the boil. Remove the crabs with tongs and set aside. When
cool, remove the triangular belly flap on the underside and discard. Turn
crab over and starting from rear of crab, pull firmly to lift off top
shell, and discard. Pull off and discard the spongy fingers from the body
and the tiny paddles from the front. Scoop out the orange crab butter and,
if desired, reserve for another use. Cut the body into quarters and pick
the crabmeat from inside, using a small fork or a metal pick, and reserve.
Twist the claws and legs off of the body. Crack the claws and legs along
the edges of the shells, using a heavy nutcracker or a small hammer. Pick
the crabmeat from the claws and legs, and reserve.

Try to keep the crabmeat in fairly large chunks, but make sure you get all
of it.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add the sour cream, minced
poblano and yellow peppers, celery, salt, and pepper. Toss together until
well mixed. Add the crab, shredding it into approximately 3/4inch chunks,
and the bread crumbs. Mix together gently but thoroughly.

Divide the mixture into 12 cakes, shaping them into patties about 3/4inch
thick and 3 inches in diameter. Refrigerate them on a large plate, loosely
covered, for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large heavy skillet, heat 1
tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil over mediumhigh heat.
Saute 6 crab cakes at a time, for about 3 minutes on each side, being very
careful when you turn them so that they do not fall apart. They should be
golden brown on each side. Place the cooked crab cakes on a baking sheet in
the oven to keep warm while you add the remaining butter and oil to the pan
and saute the other six crab cakes in the same way.

Serve warm on Mint and Parsley Salad.

Yield: 6 servings

Posted to recipeludigest by molony molony@scsn.net on Mar 09, 1998