Jumbo lump crab cakes with chipotle sauce

6 Servings

Ingredients

QuantityIngredient
1cupSoy oil
½cupOnion chopped into small dice
¾cupBell peppers (red;green and yellow)chopped into small dice
3Egg yolks
¼cupFresh lime juice
¼cupDijon mustard
½tablespoonTabasco sauce
1tablespoonVietnamese fish sauce
1poundsJumbo lump crab meat picked over
2tablespoonsSauce base; (2 or 3 heaping Tbsps)
tablespoonFresh dill roughly chopped
tablespoonChives roughly chopped
tablespoonParsley cleaned; stems removed and roughly chopped
cupFresh bread crumbs; (crusts removed)
1cupJapanese bread crumbs; (Panko)
1tablespoonFreshly ground white pepper
2Eggs
Vegetable oil for sauteing
2Chipotle peppers in 1 Tbsp; adobo sauce
1tablespoonGarlic chopped
1tablespoonShallots chopped
½cupCilantro washed and roughly chopped
½cupSeasoned rice vinegar
1Lemon; juiced
2cupsSoy oil

Directions

THE SAUCE BASE

CRAB CAKES

CHIPOTLE SAUCE

MAKE THE BASE : In a saucepan over medium heat, place the oil, onions and peppers, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.

Combine the 3 egg yolks, lime juice, mustard, Tabasco, and fish sauce in a large bowl. Remove the oil and vegetables from the heat. Slowly pour them into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Begin by pouring with small splashes, incorporating the oil completely before adding more. The heat of the oil will cook the yolks as you go, and you should end up with a hollandaise-like sauce when all the oil has been blended. Return the saucepan to the heat for 30 seconds, whisking constantly to insure that the sauce is fully incorporated. Set the saucepan down over a bowl of ice and whisk to cool quickly. Refrigerate the sauce covered, until it is well-chilled.

MAKE THE CHIPOTLE SAUCE: In a food processor, process all the ingredients, except the soy oil. With the machine running, add the oil in a slow stream until the sauce is emulsified. Taste. Add more oil if necessary. Set aside.

MAKE THE CRAB CAKES: Pick over the crab meat to remove any shell pieces.

Add the dill, chives and parsley and gently toss, taking care not to break up crab. Add two or three heaping tablespoons of the chilled sauce base to the crab and gently combine. Add enough of the bread crumbs to bind the crab mixture. Check to see that the mixture is moist (the bread crumbs will absorb moisture as the crab mixture sits) and add more sauce or bread crumbs as needed. Add the white pepper and taste for seasoning. Form the crab into little cakes, about 2 inches in diameter. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. One at a time, coat each crab cake with egg. Then coat with Japanese bread crumbs (Panko). Heat ¼ inch of the vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Sauteing in batches, brown the crab cakes on both sides and reserve on a platter. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 2- 3 minutes to heat through, and serve. To serve, place some chipotle sauce on a dish and place the crab cakes on the sauce. Yield 12 crabcakes, or 6 first course servings.

NOTES : In the original recipe chef Rick Moonen served these with a cucumber carrot salad.

Recipe by: Chef Du Jour Rick Moonen #DJ9321 Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by drleroy@... (LeRoy C Trnavsky) on Apr 25, 1998