When it comes to eating out at restaurants, sometimes it just isn't worth it. The food is always good, yes. And people like to be doted on now and again. Picture this, however. A Saturday night at, say, 7:00 in the city. Parking is a mess, restaurants are busy with long waits, your stomach is growling. It can be just as easy to whip something up at home that has the same, if not more, flavor than what you'll grab at a restaurant or quick stop. Take these crab cakes, for example. Every restaurant in Maryland has a crab cake on their menu and it always tempting to order them. But not every crab cake is served with a swipe of flavorful aioli. You can't eat every restaurant crab cake while watching reruns of your favorite guilty pleasure reality show. Authentic with just a few tweaks, these crab cakes are what you should be eating on a Saturday night. br
Ingredients
For crab cake:
8 ounces lump crab meat
1 egg
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
2 Tbsp. green onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. Dead Rise beer (or an amber ale if you don't have access to Dead Rise)
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup eadcrumbs
For aioli:
1/2 cup mayo
1 Tbsp. stone ground mustard
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. Dead Rise beer (or 1 Tbsp. amber ale and 1/2 tsp. Old Bay)
Directions
In a large bowl, combine crab meat, egg, Old Bay seasoning, green onion, beer, melted butter and eadcrumbs. Stir well until completely combined, It should be a coherent mass. Use a 1/3 cup measure and scoop out the filling, forming them into patties. Heat a skillet over medium high and coat the bottom in vegetable oil. Once hot, place in the crab cakes. Sear until golden own on one side, then flip and repeat with the other side until golden own. Repeat until you have no more crab cakes. To make aioli: combine mustard, mayo, honey and beer until well mixed. Serve each crab cake with a swipe of aioli.
Makes about 8 to 10 crab cakes
--Kim Cooper--