Tony Zentgraf
It is crab season in the Pacific Northwest. Who doesn’t love crab cakes? Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli are always top on the list to make this time of year!
This recipe has some classic ingredients for crab cakes. With the addition of a local hot sauce it gives a new depth of flavor. Joey’s Hot Sauce is a local southern Oregon company. Joey uses a variety of roasted peppers to bring the flavor and heat of the peppers to come through.
Crab Season is here, or is it?
Dungeness crab is a season that everyone can’t wait for every year. Unfortunately, over the last few years, crab seasons have been delayed for a variety of reasons. There have been two reasons for the delays and closures.
The first being, crab do not have enough meat to satisfy the commercial need at the start of the season.
The second, the crab may have toxic domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin, that makes the crab unsafe to eat.
Per the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Phytoplankton blooms happen every year, but now they are often accompanied by harmful algal blooms that produce the domoic acid toxin.”
Crab Season Delays – Good and Bad
This year, 2023, the crab season was delayed approximately 2 months. This delay may allow for the crab to increase in fill rate and grow out of the toxic domoic acid but the down side is the financial hit the industry takes. Fishermen are not fishing for crab and losing income in the process.
Delay Equals Larger Catch Weight for Fishermen
There is an upside though. The crab weight will be higher bring a bigger dollar when they reach port.
The price of crab has been on an increase in recent years as well. This year may be no exception, Alaska had a Snow Crab closure which reduced the amount of crab in the market. This could cause the Dungeness Crab price to increase because of demand.
Hopefully future crab seasons will not take such a hit with closures as they have this year. The fishing industry and the consumers will be grateful for a season that is not marked with closures and delays.
Watch the Exploring the Source Interview with Port Orford Sustainable Seafood to learn more about the Oregon Fishing Industry
Enjoy it While it is Here
Whether it is a delayed year or a fortunate year of harvesting crab, enjoy the luxury of having some crab cakes. Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli is easy to make, plus can be put together in under a half an hour and ready to eat. Serve as an appetizer or as a meal with a salad!
Enjoy!
Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli
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Crab Cake Mix
- 1 lb Dungeness Crab pieces or shredded
- 3 tbsp 3 Tbl Scallions sliced
- ¼ cup Celery diced
- ¼ cup Red Bell Peppers diced
- ⅓ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 ea Egg beaten
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 2 tsp Lemon Zest
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Joey's Hot Sauce 50/50 (or hot sauce of your choice)
- ½ cup Panko
- ¼ cup Bread Crumbs unseasoned
Lemon Aioli
- ¾ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 ea Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Granulated Garlic
- ½ tsp Granulated Onion
Instructions
Making the Lemon Aioli
- In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise and lemon juice and whisk to combine.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to combine.
Making the Crab Cakes
- Saute the cut scallions, celery and red bell peppers until softened. Remove from the heat and chill.
- In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, egg, dijon and worcestershire, Joey's Hot Sauce, Old Bay seasoning kosher salt, black pepper and lemon zest. Mix to combine incorporating the egg.
- Add the sauteed veggies and mix to combine.
- Add the crab meat and fold into the mayonnaise mixture. Combine thoroughly.
- Add the breadcrumbs and panko. Fold together to incorporate into the crab mix.
- Let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This allows the mix to set up for scooping and cooking.
- Set up a plate with 1/2 cup of panko.
- Using a 2 oz scoop, portion the crab mixture into 9 portions.
- Press one portion into the panko on the plate and press down to make a patty. See video for example.
- Avoid overhandling the patty.
- Turn the patty over and press slightly into the panko to coat the second side. Repeat process with all 9 patties.
- Heat a saute pan with some oil over medium – medium high heat.
- Add the panko coated crab cakes to the pan and sear the crab cakes until golden on the first side.
- Turn the crab cakes over and sear on the second side. Crab cakes should be 165° because of the egg in the mixture. ~ If you cook at a medium temperature, the crab cakes should reach the temperature before in the pan before becoming too dark. ~ You can put into the oven to finish cooking to get the temperature up to 165°.
- Serve the crab cakes with the lemon aioli. Enjoy!
These crabcakes are full of flavor and the lemon aioli is delicious!