VIRGINIA BEACH — In my family, you learn to pick and eat a crab by the time you’re three years old. Otherwise, you’d starve waiting for someone to pick it for you.
I learned early that our local crabs are a remarkable treasure.
Whether fried, baked, or broiled, if you have a crabcake recipe, you should share it.
Two summers of internships at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and researching Cox Communications’ 1985 documentary “Saving America’s Bay” taught me a little about callinectes sapidus. Latin, it loosely translates to “the beautiful swimmer.”
Don’t know about beautiful, but a delicious protein?
Definitely.
There just isn’t a better-tasting crab than the Atlantic blue crab.
I’ve tried most species that are edible. Some may argue that snow crabs and king crab taste better. There is more crab meat. However, there is nothing more savory-sweet and succulent than a blue crab after it turns red-orange.
Its immaculate white meat is found in the claws, legs and body under the protective shell. The muscle that powers the back fins is the most succulent.
We benefit from living near one of the world’s largest estuaries.
Fresh water goes out, and saltwater comes in. Our native blue crab may be the brightest star of these interconnected local waters.
The secret to cooking a good crab cake is to not over-season or overcook it. Crab is a delicacy, and you don’t want to change its natural taste by over-seasoning it with salty seafood spices and cayenne pepper.
Save that for the boils.
Steaming the crabs is a preferred cooking method. A couple cans of a hearty ale are perfect. Just a light dusting of Old Bay seasoning or a powered crab boil mix when served, or better yet, on the side.
Now on to the crab cakes.
Virginia Beach’s Doralece Dullaghan, whose work in the culinary industry includes supporting 10 Sur La Table cookbooks, wrote to me via text message: “Crabcakes are the quintessential Tidewater area entree. Blue crabs represent the best of the bay and attract folks from all over the East Coast to feast on this seasonal specialty.”
Dullaghan wrote that she, too, remembers the crab cakes from her childhood. She even sent me a family recipe she has made many times. One of its tricks is to put the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes before broiling it lightly on each side for about three minutes.
There are many ways of making a crabcake.
Addison Porterfield, a trusted epicurean from Green Run, who saved his mother and aunt’s recipe, advised:
“Mix breadcrumbs or crackers soaked in milk. Add in back-fin or lump crab meat, your choice. Add chopped onions and green peppers, then seasoning – black pepper, Old Bay, tablespoon mustard, mayonnaise and one egg. About a tablespoon of parsley flakes. Mix all ingredients together, let sit in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes, make cakes and cook.”
If you pick them yourself, a baker’s dozen of crab meat is about a pound. However, if you prefer fresh-picked, please check for loose shells that may have slipped by.
For this column, I had to rely on some fourth-generation crabbers.
I wanted my editor to try my own family’s recipe, so only the best – I prefer right-out-of-the-net backfin – comes from Hampton Seafood Market on Pembroke Avenue in Hampton.
A pound of picked crab meat yields six to eight crab cakes.
In a large bowl, dump the crab meat out of the container. Shake lightly, so the crab meat returns to its un-compacted size. It looks better. The texture is better.
Then take an egg, two tablespoons of mayonnaise and finely dice a quarter of green pepper. Then, the piece de resistance, a teaspoon of mustard. Dijon, if you prefer. Put in crab and gently mix, trying not to break lumps.
If you have a crab cake recipe you’d like to share, send it to me in care of The Independent News.
Let’s be the crab cake capital of Hampton Roads.
The author is a writer and documentary filmmaker who grew up in Norfolk and lived in Virginia Beach for much of his life. He ran a production company, worked in college athletics and was curator at an art gallery in Virginia Beach for years.
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