CRAB CAKES GO FOR THE GOLD
Bragging rights are on the line at the upcoming Mendocino Crab Cake Cook-Off, which caps that county’s annual Crab, Wine & Beer Festival (www.visitmendocino.com). The crustacean showdown goes down Jan. 27 in a grand tasting tent in Fort Bragg, where guests can nibble Dungeness, sip Mendocino wines and debate the merits of crab cakes in all their possible variations.
So we’re getting into the delicious spirit of it all by tapping the folks from Fort Bragg’s Cucina Verona for crab cake tips. Of course, it’s no secret that fresh Dungeness trumps canned crabmeat every time. (Although if you’re even contemplating the latter, best read our 2015 Taste-Off column on that topic — http:// bayareane.ws/2CTiifg — which ranked canned crab from best to “ahhhh, please don’t make me eat this.”)
It’s the rest of the ingredients that seem to pose a problem for so many people — at least judging by the (enormously huge) number of soggy, breadcrumb-heavy versions out there. When it comes to competition-winning crab cake, it’s not just the egg, panko and mayo ratios that elevate the dish. Mendocino chef Margaret Fox’s first prize-winning crab cakes (http://bayareane.ws/2lT0c5a), for example, include lemon zest, Tabasco and an herb-lemon aioli.
Cucina Verona chef Joe Harris adds fresh basil, lemon, sun-dried tomatoes, Old Bay seasoning, Cajun mustard and Cajun tartar sauce to the mix. (Harris makes his own Old Bay mix, as well as the Cajun mustard and tartar sauce, but you may want to use a supermarket shortcut.) Here’s his crab cake recipe and the how-tos.