Crab Croquettes

Crab Croquettes

printable version

These looked much more pretty than the picture shows.
The husband and the kid found nothing to like about these croquettes.  The husband, who dislikes all things coconut, could even taste the coconut flavor.

This recipe appears to have been cut from a cook book.  On the back there is a recipe for Shrimp Jambalaya.  Both recipes are complete so I really don't know which one she was saving.

First I gathered the ingredients and made the white sauce.  I love making white sauce!  I remember learning to make white sauce in Home Economics class (that's what we called it in the '80's.  In the 2000's it's called "Skills for Living" or Career & Technical Education (CTE).  I didn't do it very well in class but it is no problem for me now.  Patience is the key.

While the 1/4 c. butter melted on low, I flaked the crab meat with two forks, just like shredding chicken.

With the butter melted, I added the flour, salt & pepper, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition to fully incorporate and keep it smooth.

I stirred with one hand and read a book with another. ("A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles)

The bubbles were pretty small and just on the edges.

I removed from heat and added the milk super slowly while stirring the whole time.

It said bring rapidly to boil so I put the burner to 8 and continued stirring continuously.

I set the timer for 2 minutes and planned to stop with 30 second left but the sauce thickened up pretty quickly and began to pull away from the pan so I just did the minimum 1 minute.

While the sauce cooled I finished shredding the crab.

I keep dried parsley flakes in my spice collection but this week I bought lettuce and the parsley was right next to it and I needed parsley in two or three recipes this week and parsley is super cheap so for probably the first time in my life I bought fresh parsley and chopped it myself.

I just estimated to TBSP because the parsley was already clinking to the cutting board and knife, I really didn't want to lose any pieces to the measuring spoon.

I do NOT like mustard.  Only in my late 40's did I begin to like Honey Mustard on sandwiches or salads.  In that decade I also discovered that I enjoy dried mustard in recipes.  I often add it into my ground beef creations.  I had onion juice for a previous recipe so I was happy to get to use it again.

First I added the salt and mustard and mixed well.  If you watch it you can see the yellow of the mustard powder working through the crab meat.  Then I added the parsley.  I used the two forks to mix - it was like tossing a salad.  Then I sprinkled around the onion juice.  I forgot the white pepper - maybe I'll add it Friday if I remember.

When I could put my hand right at the surface of the sauce and not feel any heat I knew it was ready to mix in.

Thick - YES.  Sauce - not so much.  It was really a giant blob that glopped out of the pan in chunks.  I used the back of the spoon often to make sure everything got broken down and incorporated.

In the end I was happy with the blending and spread it evenly in the container.  I made this on a Wednesday evening in preparation for a Lenten Friday dinner.

...continued on Friday...

1 whole cup of fine bread crumbs!  That sounds like a lot.  Usually when I do a coating I wind up dumping so much in the trash it feels very wasteful.  We should not waste the resources that we are blessed with...especially during Lent!  But, I try to follow these recipes as closely as possible.  I used my own breadcrumbs that I save when I slice the homemade bread I bake regularly.  (It makes a lot of crumbs.)  I keep them in a Ziploc freezer bag in the freezer to use in recipes.

 My supply only netted 1/2 a cup so I used the Panko breadcrumbs I had on hand to fill the cup...even though I wouldn't consider them "fine".

I opted to use 2 TBSP milk with the egg because I wanted the richest flavor.

I used a 1/3 measuring cup and packed the crab mixture into it then dumped it out in a mound.

I made all the mounds first.

I decided to use some coconut oil hoping for a subtle flavor to pair well with the crab meat.  I used the last of my supply so I only wound up with half coconut oil and half canola oil.

I didn't want these to be greasy so I just put enough oil to cover the bottom of the crab cakes.

While the pan heated I mushed the mounds into a more uniform patty, did the coating as directed (crumbs - egg - crumbs) and carried the plate over to the pan, holding the mess over the plate, putting each patty into the pan individually.

Surprisingly I ran out of bread crumbs AND egg mixture and had to replenish.  I used water with the second egg because I didn't need a whole lot more.

My very large skillet was not big enough to hold them all at first but after I flipped the first batch I was able to make room for the last two.  I added some more canola oil so the pan didn't get too dry.  The recipe said 3-4 minutes and didn't mention flipping.  I flipped a couple of times and they were probably in the pan close to 15 minutes until they got a nice golden color.  There were somewhat thick so I wanted to make sure they were heated through.  I don't think there were any raw parts because the crab meat I used can be eaten straight out of the pack, like on a salad.

I thought these were restaurant quality yummy without the over-fried or greasy sentiment.
I'm happy that there are 6 left over so I can have one for lunch every day next week!