Crabcakes with Red Chili Mayonnaise

Crabcakes with Red Chili Mayo

This is a basic version of a Maryland crabcake (key ingredient: Old Bay Seasoning) with a red chili mayonnaise I adapted from The Common Grill in Chelsea, Michigan. I ate there once a long time ago and the crabcake is outstanding! The recipe for their crabcake and the accompanying chili mayo was printed in the September 2002 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. I reduced the amount of chili a bit for the sensitive-palated wee ones.

For the crabcakes:
1 pound lump crabmeat
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (see tips)
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup panko
1 tablespoon canola oil

For the red chili mayo:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the crabmeat in a medium bowl. Check the crabmeat for any pieces of cartilage or shell. I tried to do this daintily with a fork, but the best way is to work your way through the meat carefully using clean fingers. If you miss any pieces during this process, you may find them while forming the crab cakes in the following steps.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay and lemon zest. Add the mixture to the crab, along with the egg and the panko, folding together gently as not to break up the chunks of crab too much.
Shape the mixture into 6 crabcakes, about 3 inches in diameter. You can prepare the crabcakes up until this point and refrigerate them for up to a day, if you’d like.
Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the crab cakes in the hot skillet, allowing them to brown lightly on each side and heat through completely. On my stove, this took about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, make the red chili mayo by whisking together the mayonnaise, chili-garlic sauce and lemon juice.
Serve the crabcakes with the red chili mayo on the side.
Quick Tips
1. I found an olive oil based mayonnaise at Whole Foods Market that I really like.
2. The mayo has just a bit of kick. If you are worried about it being too spicy for your tastes, cut the chili-garlic sauce back to 1/2 teaspoon and taste from there, adding more as needed.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 8 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

2 responses to “Crabcakes with Red Chili Mayonnaise”

Jan Richards says:

September 9, 2011 at 3:05 pm

Hi Alicia — eager to try this recipe, but wondering where you get your crab? Do you go down to the seafood vendors at the waterfront or get it at Whole Foods or elsewhere? Crab cakes are my passion, but I usually eat them in a restaurant where they charge me some exhorbitant price. I’m certainly willing to give these a try…

Reply
- Alicia says:
  
  September 9, 2011 at 8:26 pm
  
  Hi Jan! Nice to hear from you here. Yes, I’ve gone down to the waterfront to get crab in the past and I’ve been pleased. However, for this particular recipe, I used crabmeat from a can. I’ve had pretty good success with Phillips Foods lump crab meat. You can get it in a one-pound sized can. It’s not cheap, but it’s about as good as you are going to get if you don’t have time to go down to the waterfront. Here is a link: http://www.phillipsfoods.com/retail-products/ProductsSearchDetails.aspx?productClassificationId=1&itemNumber=15101
  
  Reply

2 responses to “Crabcakes with Red Chili Mayonnaise”

Leave a Reply