I can’t tell you how many times I made crab cakes while working at different restaurants.  I am pretty sure even I don’t  want to know.  What I do know is many times they had lots of flavors sans one, crab and I often thought the cakes were more bread crumb than crab.  So here is a quick, easy, and very crab tasting recipe that can be made any night of the week.  This recipe makes a lot of cakes but realize you can make the cakes and freeze them in sets of 4 cakes or whatever works for you.

All-American Crab Cakes

1/2 cup yellow onion, fine dice

1/2 cup celery, fine dice

2 tsp. Garlic, finely minced

Grape seed or canola oil

1 lb. pasteurized crab meat, preferably from the claw

25 saltines, crushed

2 TBS. mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 TBS. parsley, minced

2 large eggs

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Place a medium sized sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add a glug of oil to the pan and give it time to heat.  Add onion, celery and garlic.  Cook the vegetables gently until translucent.  Do not let them brown, adjust the heat if need be.  When finished let the vegetables cool.
2. Place the cooled vegetables into a large mixing bowl.  Add crab, cracker crumbs, mayonnaise, Old Bay, parsley, and eggs.  Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  It’s nice to bite into meaty crab pieces of cake, so gently turn the mixture with your hands being careful not to break the crab meat.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set it into the refrigerator, and let it rest for 1 hour to over night.
4. Place a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add a good glug of oil so there is a thin layer across the bottom surface of the pan.
5. Form tangerines size balls of crab cake working the mixture with your hands.  Pat them into a patty.  Repeat making patties until all the mixture has been used.
6. Gently place 4 patties into the pan.  You don’t want to crowd the.  Sauté until dark. Gently turn and do the same.  Remove the patties from the pan.  Either keep them warm in a 200 degree oven while you sauté more or serve them immediately.