Roasted Corn Crab Cakes with Chili Lime Sauce

My favorite seafood is absolutely crab!  It's so sweet and delicate. This is also something that you can certainly make ahead of time and cook quickly at the last minute, making it something special but efficient for a fast "after work" meal.

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Ingredients:
This ingredient list is for one pound of lump crab meat - which is how it is typically sold.  This will make 8 really nice sized crab cakes.

Roasted Corn Crab Cakes 

• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mixed bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 Tbsp country Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce (I used Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce...which is insanely hot)
• 1/2 cup pulverized Ritz crackers or Italian bread crumbs
• 1 rounded Tbsp roasted corn kernels, cut from the cob
• 1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• a squeeze of lemon
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter

Chili Lime Sauce

• Plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• fresh squeezed lime juice
• chili powder
• a few shakes of Sriracha hot chili sauce*
• *see Food Nerd Notes

Step-by-Step:
Heat half of the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.

Add the onions, celery, and peppers. 

 

Season the mixture with salt and cayenne.

Saute for 5 minutes.

 

Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the husk and silk from an ear of corn and roast over a fire until the kernels become brown and slightly blistered.  I find it easiest to use long tongs for this.  Turn the corn frequently.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, creole mustard, roasted corn kernels, hot sauce, the cooled cooked vegetables, bread/cracker crumbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

 

 Making the cracker crumbs...

Cracker crumbs..into a small food processor.

Cracker crumbs after pulverizing.

Roasted corn cut from the cob.

Cooled sauteed vegetable.

A squeeze of lemon juice.

 Gently fold in the crab meat.  

Make sure you gently feel through the crab meat first to catch any stray shells.

Mix gently, but thoroughly. At this point, I added some chopped parsley.

Hands really do make the best utensils sometimes.

Portion the filling into 1/3 cup balls. 

Form the balls into patties, about 1-inch thick.  At this point, I recommend putting them back in the fridge a while to "firm up" a bit. 

**For a "make ahead" meal... I would form the patties and leave them in the fridge. Then, when you get home from work, you just take them out and fry them up.

Just prior to cooking, I brushed the patties with a frothy, whipped up egg white.  Then coat with Italian bread crumbs, gently but firmly pressing them into the meat.

Reheat the same pan of the vegetables with butter and remaining olive oil. Gently place the patties in the hot pan and saute just until brown on both sides.  If you want a crispier patty, use  more oil.  In my first application, I was trying to use a minimal amount of oil to reduce the fat content. 

The resulting patties are very delicate!

Here are three different ways to serve these... I'm sure you can think of many more:

You can serve them as an appetizer alone with a dollop of sauce.  I thought a large shell would be an appropriate serving vessel for this.  - with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Or.... over a lightly dressed angel hair pasta.

• A simple sauce of sauteed shallots, white wine, lemon juice, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese..

Or over a salad.

• mixed greens, sundried tomatoes, more roasted corn kernels, a light drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, a bit of grated Parmesan, a lemon wedge, and obviously the crab cake.

Order the Menu Musings Cookbook!

 
Method:

Heat half of the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, and peppers.  Season the mixture with salt and cayenne and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.   

Remove the husk and silk from an ear of corn and roast over a fire until the kernels become brown and slightly blistered.  I find it easiest to use long tongs for this.  Turn the corn frequently.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, creole mustard, roasted corn kernels, hot sauce, the cooled cooked vegetables, bread/cracker crumbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

To make the cracker crumbs, I just pulverized them in a food processor.  Then gently fold in the crab meat.  Mix gently, but thoroughly. At this point, I added some chopped parsley.  Portion the filling into 1/3 cup balls.  Form the balls into patties, about 1-inch thick.  At this point, I recommend putting them back in the fridge a while to "firm up" a bit. 

Just prior to cooking, I brushed the patties with a frothy, whipped up egg white.  Then coat with Italian bread crumbs, gently but firmly pressing them into the meat.  Reheat the same pan of the vegetables with butter and remaining olive oil. Gently place the patties in the hot pan and saute just until brown on both sides.  If you want a crispier patty, use  more oil.  In my first application, I was trying to use a minimal amount of oil to reduce the fat content. The resulting patties are very delicate!

Food Nerd Notes:

Sriracha is a type of Thai hot sauce, named after the coastal city of Se Racha, in central Thailand, where it was first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants. It is a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Traditional Thai Sriracha tends to be tangier, sweeter, and runnier in texture than non-Thai versions, and is available in varying heat levels. Non-Thai sauces are different in flavor, color, and texture from Thai versions. The Huy Fong brand dominates in the U.S. This is the one I have.