One evening, we was havin’ cousin Buddy and his wife over for supper, so I told Daddy to boil up the crabs he’d caught off his dock and I’d make us a big salad and some of Buddy’s favorite crab cakes. While I went to work choppin’ the vegetables for my salad and the ingredients for the crab cakes, Daddy got the water boilin’ up real good in his big ol’crab pot. Suddenly, I heard Daddy whispering under his breath from behind me: “Dagnabit!” “What is it?” I asked. To which he replied, “Nuthin’.” I didn’t even turn around or think much about it. But then a few minutes later, he said in a much louder whisper: “Dadnabit! Sh**! Bobbi Jo git over here!”
I turned around and there was Daddy standin’ over the pot, with one of those fresh crabs he’d caught clamping down on his left pointer finger with one claw, while the other claw clamped down on his right thumb! Apparently, it had grabbed his left finger when he was puttin’ in the pot and when he tried to git it off with his other hand, that darn crab grabbed Daddy’s right thumb and wasn’t about to let go. Now, if you know anything about crabs and the strength of their claws, you know this was a serious situation. I panicked: “Oh my Gawd! What should I do?” To which Daddy said: “Look in that second drawer down there and git the hammer and knock this son-of-a-bitch in the head so he’ll let me loose!”
I hurriedly got the hammer, banged that darn crab in the head, and sure enough, he loosed his grip from Daddy’s fingers and fell right into the pot of boilin’ water. After we bandaged up Daddy’s fingers, he poured himself a stiff drink. Then, without missin’ a beat, he went right back to boilin’ our supper. Buddy and Anna arrived as I was fryin’ up the last of the crab cakes in the skillet. As we all sat down to supper, we all laughed about what had happened, when cousin Buddy showed us a big scar on his right hand where some crab had grabbed him too! But, the most happy person at the table was my Daddy, who said that he was a lot more glad to be eatin’ that crazy crab instead of wrestlin’ with it.
So, when people ask me why I keep a hammer in my utensil holder, along with the whisk, the spoon, the potato masher and the soup ladle, I tell ‘em “Oh. That’s there, in case you I git hungry for crab cakes.”
Crab Cakes
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Southern
Serves: 4
PREP TIME
10 mins
COOK TIME
13 mins
TOTAL TIME
23 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. lump crabmeat (fresh )
1 large egg
¼ cup mayonnaise
1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1-1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs ()
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon sweet red pepper (finely chopped)
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
First off, pick through your fresh crabmeat for any shells ( if you got jumbo lump crabmeat, you won’t have any shells). Then, put the crabmeat in a medium mixing bowl and set it aside.
In another bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, chopped parsley and red pepper, Worcestershire sauce, salt and ¼ cup of the breadcrumbs.
Now, pour this mixture over the crabmeat and gently fold until well combined. Be careful not to overmix, as you don’t want to tear up the crabmeat chunks.
Spread the rest of the breadcrumbs in a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Next, shape the crab mixture into cakes that are about 1-1/2 inch thick.
Now, carefully pat or dredge each crabcake in the remaining breadcrumbs.
In your non-stick skillet, heat the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. When the butter is all frothy, add the cakes to the pan, just a few at a time. Don’t crowd ‘em as you want them to cook evenly.
Cook until golden brown on the underside, about 3- 4 minutes per side.
Flip the cakes, and reduce the heat to medium low, and continue cooking until the other side is well browned,too. About 3-4 minutes.
Now, serve up those beautiful little crabcakes with some tartar sauce or freshly cut lemon wedges.