Friday, November 19, 2010

Jalapeno Popper Crab Cakes



This second hors d'oeuvres was the result of my yearning to marry the following two classics, the jalapeno popper and the crab cake. In search of a creamy, crabby texture, I did something some may consider blasphemy...but hear me out...

I put the entire mixture (crab meat and all) in the food processor....yes that's right I said crab meat and all... but this was claw meat (not jumbo lump) and so at $7.99 a lb. (compared to lump's hefty $24-25) ...I figured for experimentation's sake, why not give it a shot!

I tried to keep them relatively simple and in the interest of time (or lack there of on Thanksgiving Day) they're even better made a day in advance! Feel free to leave out the jalapeno if spicy is not your thing - you'll be left with a creamy textured crab cake.

If you do add the diced jalapeno, add as much or as little as you like.  What's nice about these jalapeno crab cakes...you can easily taste the mixture before forming into balls and baking, as there's no raw egg in the recipe.

Broiled not fried...creamy, crabby, spicy, crunchy and delicious!  Top with (or serve along side) a warm marinara, classic cocktail, cooling ranch or tarter sauce...for a crowd pleasing, holiday worthy display!

*Shown above is a sour cream, cream cheese mixture placed in a plastic bag, corner clipped and drizzled on top. Below, diced jalapeno garnish. 

Jalapeno Popper Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

1 lb. Crab Meat, claw meat used here for to conserve cost (I use Phillips Brand)
1 celery stalk, finely diced
2 shallots, finely diced
2-4 jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and finely diced
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 scant teaspoons Old Bay
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (dried fine too)
5-6 ounces, softened Cream Cheese (Only Philadelphia Brand!)
1 heaping tablespoon good mayonnaise
1/2 cup Panko Crumbs (plus more for rolling)

Directions: 

Preheat broiler.

Cook up celery, shallot and jalapeno pepper in bit of butter until soft about 4-5 minutes. Set aside.
 
Drain and pick through crab meat to remove any shell bits that may have been left behind. Place claw meat, jalapeno, celery, shallot, Old Bay, lemon juice, parsley, cream cheese and mayonnaise in food processor and pulse until well combined and creamy (pushing down sides as needed).
 
Place mixture in large bowl and add 1/2 cup Panko Crumbs and stir until well combine.
 
Place extra Panko on a flat plate, form crab mixture into bite size ball shapes and then roll in the panko. Place Crab Balls in a roasting pan with sides, sprayed with a bit of cooking spray. (Spray the tops of the crab with the cooking spray too to encourage browning.) 
 
Broil for approximately 4-5 minutes, then flip over and broil an additional 3-5 on the other side - keeping an eye not to over brown. (You could fry these as oppose to broiling in oven, but I opted to broil and they came out great!)
 
Place on serving tray and serve with favorite sauce.

20 comments:

Velva said...

I think crab and jalapeno makes a nice flavor combination.

Cheers to your living on the edge and putting the crab in the food processor-Amen!!

Unknown said...

OMG I can imagine how wonderful these are.

Pam said...

This sounds really good! Unfortunately, I've already planned hors d'oeuvres for Thanksgiving. One is the absolute best salmon, caught and smoked by my sons' friend. So I must try this for Christmas and/or New Years.

Do they hold together well? Are they best eaten hot or is room temp good also? What is recipe yield? Love jalapeno poppers and crab cakes also, so this is a must try! thanks for the recipe!

Katerina said...

I agree, I would make them in the oven too. We take so many extra calories? They look very yummy. I'll try them without the jalapeno due to my sensitive stomach.

Katerina said...

Thank you very much for your beautiful comment on my blog!

Clint said...

This is outrageous. This is what Ponce DeLeon was looking for and never found. Praise to you, Design Wine & Dine for your tour-de-force of creative genius.

Unknown said...

Thanks for your comments all! After I hit "post" my day went crazy -long story-ugh!

Anyway, they hold up perfectly (I was worried too as the no egg thing) but all the cream cheese/panko bind them together :)

It yeilded about 30 bite size balls.

They were super creamy and this is certainly a recipe you can mess around with! They taste like spicy, creamy, crab cakes... :)

Genius...no. Now if they were dipped in an awesome beer batter then deep fried = THAT would be genius!!! ;)

Kimberly Peterson said...

LOVE a bit of spice, and these look divine!!

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

wow these sound fabulous!

Mags @ the Other Side of 50 said...

Oh for the love of Mike, these look fantastic. Adding to my Christmas appetizer list.

Joanne said...

So basically you combined America's two favorite appetizers. Glorious.

The Food Hound said...

Big crowd-pleasing recipe :) LOVE IT.

Miss Meat and Potatoes said...

One word - GENIUS. This is bound to be a new appetizer around the country. You should trademark it! My mouth is watering - thanks for sharing!

Kathleen said...

OH MY GOSH!! These look frickin amazing!!!!!!

chow and chatter said...

wow how cool tweeting it for sure hugs

Jan said...

These are brilliant!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

These are darling. I would imagine jalapenos are fabulous with crab and give it a little kick.
Sam

Nuts about food said...

I am making these!!! Mmmmmh

Syd said...

My eyes bugged out, just reading the title of this post.

I am SO trying this.

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