South Carolina has gorgeous blue crabs. They have slight blue highlight to their shells. They have a nice sweet flavor to them.
Jon and I visited a local pier so I could take some photographs. We went there a few times, and each time two guys were there with their crab nets in the water. I like to call them Mario and Luigi. I know one of their names is Mario, but I can never remember the other man’s name. We got to talking with Mario and Luigi, and they were kind enough to share their secrets. They told us what kind of nets to buy and what kind of bait to buy. They were even nice enough to give us a lesson on how to clean the crabs while at the pier.
So we took their advice, and we got everything Mario and Luigi said we needed. We lowered our crab nets into the water and we sat and waited. After a little while, we decided to check to see if we had anything in our net. We caught something! A pair of sunglasses! (True story, and a little cliché if you ask me!) We did eventually end up with about a dozen crabs to take home.
My favorite crab dish has quickly become a Crab Cake Eggs Benedict: Sweet crab meat served over a toasted English muffin, topped with a rich poached egg, and all topped with a avocado and lemon aioli sauce!
Ingredients:
For the crab cakes:
2 cups lump crabmeat (if you’re using canned, drain and discard the liquid)
¼ cup chopped roasted red pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried dillweed
1 egg, whisked
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ cup plain breadcrumbs
Canola oil (enough to create ¼ inch of depth in a skillet)
For the Avocado and Lemon Aioli:
½ avocado (seed removed and discarded)
Juice of the other ½ of the lemon
¼ cup canola oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt
1.8 tsp ground black pepper
Needed for Assembly:
6 poached eggs
3 English muffins, halved and toasted
Paprika or Ancho chile powder for dusting
Toss all of the crab cake ingredients together in a bowl until combined.
Form the crab cake mixture into six patties. They will be delicate, so handle gently.
Preheat a skillet with the canola oil on medium-high heat. The oil is ready when it sizzles when a few breadcrumbs are dropped in.
Pan fry the crab cakes on each side until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Remove the crab cakes from the skillet and place them on a paper towel lined plate.
Blend the avocado, canola oil, lemon juice, salt and ground black pepper together in a blender until smooth.
Assemble the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict by first laying down the English muffin halve, next a crab cake, then a poached egg.
Top the poached egg with about ½ tbsp of the Avocado and Lemon Aioli. Dust the tops with the paprika or ancho chile powder.
Makes 3 full orders or 6 halve orders.
- 2 cups lump crabmeat (if you’re using canned, drain and discard the liquid)
- ¼ cup chopped roasted red pepper
- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried dillweed
- 1 egg, whisked
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
- Canola oil (enough to create ¼ inch of depth in a skillet)
- ½ avocado (seed removed and discarded)
- Juice of the other ½ of the lemon
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- 6 poached eggs
- 3 English muffins, halved and toasted
- Paprika or Ancho chile powder for dusting
- Toss the crabmeat, roasted red pepper, shallots, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp dillweed, egg, juice of ½ a lemon, and breadcrumbs together in a bowl.
- Form the crab cake mixture into six patties. They will be delicate, so handle gently.
- Preheat a skillet with the canola oil on medium-high heat. The oil is ready when it sizzles when a few breadcrumbs are dropped in.
- Pan fry the crab cakes on each side until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Remove the crab cakes from the skillet and place them on a paper towel lined plate.
- Blend the avocado, canola oil, lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp ground black pepper together in a blender until smooth.
- Assemble the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict by first laying down the English muffin halve, next a crab cake, then a poached egg.
- Top the poached egg with about ½ tbsp of the Avocado and Lemon Aioli. Dust the tops with the paprika or ancho chile powder.
- Makes 3 full orders or 6 halve orders.
