Crab cakes, oh how I love thee. Crab Cake Sliders, oh how I love thee more! Real crab or imitation, appetizer or meal – I really don’t care. They are little bits of heaven. I’ve been making these delicious crab cake sliders for ages and they never disappoint. I’ve never had a complaint, not one. A total crowd pleaser.
Because I was planning on putting these in sliders, I chose imitation crab (mix of crab meat and fish). If I was serving these sans slider, I would purchase only the real stuff but honestly, use whatever you want.
Here is your cast of characters.
Mix, mix, mix.
I know, it’s a hot mess but rest assured they are worth it.
Take the mix and form it into little patties. Be sure to refrigerate before you cook them. The longer the better, trust me.
I do have a confession – while these are amazingly delicious they can be tricky to make. I find that if the mix is too dry or too moist they either won’t stick together or they are a soppy mess. This day was more on the soppy mess side of things. This is the confession part. Thankfully my sister Natasha was there. After working with these guys for a bit, being patient, trying different tactics and forming methods nothing would work. So I stopped and with crab cake all over my hands, looked at her and in frustration told her that I wanted to throw something – preferably the crab cake mix. It happens.
Being the gracious sister she is (and because she wanted to eat the crab cakes, not mop them off the floor), she took over and finished forming them for me. So see Natasha’s crab cakes above.
I love my sister.
After letting them harden up in the fridge, just pan fry them with a bit of oil. I used my olive oil blend (1 part olive oil, 3 parts veggie or canola oil).
I did mine in my awesome cast iron skillet which is a super versatile kitchen tool. I highly recommend investing in one.
Assembly time. More importantly, eating time.
I made my own tartar sauce. It was amazing (I’ve shared the recipe below).
A closer look.
I really do hope you get to make these. Despite my patience issues, they really are worth all of the trouble.
much love,
jess
- 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
- ⅓ cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz)
- 5 scallions (green and white parts), finely chopped
- ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 egg
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Flour, for dusting
- ½ cup olive oil blend
- Favorite slider buns or rolls, favorite sauce and ½ cup spinach or arugula for garnish.
- In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and oil. Shape into patties and dust with flour. Place on a sheet tray and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
- Assemble sliders with buns, sauce and greens.
- ½ cup good mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons relish or diced cornichons
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon coarse-grained mustard
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of horseradish
- Pinch kosher salt
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor or mini chopper fitted with a steel blade and pulse several times until the pickles are finely chopped and all the ingredients are well mixed but not pureed. Spoon into a serving bowl and chill.
75
Thanks Jerry!
To make neat, slider-sized crabcakes without the mess – get a mini cupcake pan, drip about 3 drops of olive oil in each cup, roll the crab mix in panko (spoon on and press) to a size slightly larger than the cup and bake at 350 to 375 for at least 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool and place inside party rolls.