Recipes from Let's Cook, Ya'll

Imitation Crab Cakes

A cheaper alternative to fresh crab cakes

CourseLunch / Dinner
CuisineAmerican

Ingredients

Yogurt Dill Sauce

1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1tablespoon mayo
1tablespoon minced fresh dillI use lots of dried dill
2cloves garlicminced
1teaspoon lime juicefresh or I use bottled

Crab Cakes

1 eggbeaten or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1tablespoon dijon mustard
1tablespoon nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauceor I use liquid aminos
1/4teaspoon hot sauce
8ounces imitation crab meator sub 8 oz cooked crabmeat if available to you
1/3cup finely chopped celeryI omit
1/4cup finely diced green onions
canola or vegetable oilfor pan frying crab cakes

Instructions

Sauce

TO MAKE THE SAUCE: In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, garlic and lime juice. Set the sauce aside (or refrigerate till ready to use)

Crab Cakes

TO MAKE THE CRAB CAKES: In a medium bowl, stir together the egg (or egg substitute), mustard, yogurt, soy sauce and pepper sauce. Add the crab, celery and onions. Mix until combined (see my notes: I use breadcrumbs) and form the crab mixture into 16 patties (See Notes: I get 5-8 cakes out of this mixture).
Add 1/2 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil to a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium heat. Add half the crab patties. Cook for 4 minutes. Turn the patties over and cook about 4 minutes more or until golden. Cook the remaining patties using the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of oil. Serve the crab cakes with the sauce.
Original Recipe Note: If using fresh, always pick over crabmeat to remove any little bits of shell and pieces of cartilage that might be in with the meat. Then flake the meat with your fingers to break up large pieces. For purposes of this recipe, you don’t need to buy the most expensive crab. The meat labeled claw meat, special or backfin is cheaper than jumbo lump backfin. If your budget is tight, opt for artificial crab, also known as surimi.

Recipe Notes

Stacy’s Notes – I often use more mayo than the original recipe, as I found the sauce to be a bit runny. Used dried dill weed and garlic from a jar. As for the cakes, I use imitation crab and no celery. Found they were very moist and didn’t want to hold together, so I added plain dry bread crumbs (from a can) until they held together. I used a bit more Tabasco than called for, but everything else the same. I try to make these up at least 30-60 minutes ahead of time, and refrigerate the crab cakes so that they hold together better as you pan fry them. I usually get 5-8 crab cakes out of this, never 16 tiny ones.