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Mouth-watering Crab Cakes

A fried crab cake made with crabmeat, breadcrumbs, eggs, celery, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and butter.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Mouth-watering Crab Cakes

12 crab cakes
Time3 to 4 minutes per side

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the crab mixture

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the crabmeat, 1¼ cups bread crumbs, the butter, 2 eggs, the celery, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; mix well.

  2. Shape into 12 crab cakes, using about ¼ cup of mixture for each.

Coat the crab cakes

  1. In a shallow dish, beat the remaining egg with a fork.

  2. Place the remaining ¾ cup of bread crumbs in another shallow dish.

  3. Dip the crab cakes in the egg, then in the bread crumbs, coating completely.

Cook and serve

  1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking.

  2. Cook the crab cakes in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden.

  3. Drain on paper towel-lined platter.

  4. Serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

775Calories
21 gProtein
32 gFat
99 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Bread + celerytop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,110 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Crabmeat
Forms the main body of the cakes and gives them their flavor.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and bind the mixture, and form a crisp golden coating.
Eggs
Bind the crab mixture together and help the coating adhere.
Butter
Adds richness and flavor to the crab mixture.
Mayonnaise
Adds moisture and fat, keeping the cakes tender and binding them.

The step that matters

Shape and coat the cakes evenly. The mixture is soft and moist, so cakes that are loosely packed or unevenly coated can fall apart in the oil. Firm shaping and complete coating help them hold together and brown evenly.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, butter, egg, sauce, pepper):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, butter, egg, sauce, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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