Maryland Deviled Crab Cakes

HEAVEN KNOWS I’VE EATEN MY FILL OF FRIED OR broiled deviled crab in the shell at seafood houses along the Carolina and Florida coasts, but only in a couple of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay restaurants have I encountered (and swooned over) deviled crab cakes gently sautéed to a golden finish. “Egg white,” one cook informed me when I asked how she made her cakes so light, “and not too many bread crumbs—inside or outside the patties.” The only problem with eating crab cakes that have been correctly “deviled” is that, afterward, you might find ordinary crab cakes bland by comparison. I like to pat this mixture into tiny rounds and, in fine Southern style, serve the cakes at cocktail parties—with or without tartar or mustard sauce.

MAKES: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 1⁄2 cup half-and-half
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 large egg white
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• 2 scallions (part of green tops included), minced
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1⁄4 cup peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, mayonnaise, and egg white until well blended.
2. Add the dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, minced scallions, minced red bell pepper, and salt. Stir until well blended.
3. Gently fold in the crabmeat and 1⁄2 cup of the bread crumbs until well blended.
4. Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and shape each part into an oval patty.
5. In a small bowl, combine the remaining bread crumbs with the melted butter. Mix well.
6. Turn each crab cake patty in the bread crumb mixture to coat lightly.
7. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the peanut oil and the 2 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat.
8. Add the crab cakes to the skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side.
9. Drain the crab cakes briefly on paper towels.
10. Serve the crab cakes immediately.