Crab cakes

A well-made crab cake is a beautiful thing. It should be mostly crab, with just enough mayo/other to keep it from completely falling apart; with enough fried coating to give it texture, but not so much as to disguise the crab flavor.

I got a container of crab meat from the restaurant the other night (they were going to throw it out! Can you imagine?) and used it to make some yummy crab cakes. I use a combination of oil and butter to fry mine; you can go all oil if you'd rather. I also coated mine in panko instead of bread crumbs, to make the outside crispier, but bread crumbs are fine too.

1 lb crab meat
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1/4 cup mayo (or less)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, dill)
Fresh bread crumbs or panko

Saute the onion in 2 tablespoons butter until soft. Set aside.

Mix the crab meat with the egg, mayo, Dijon, Old Bay to taste, and fresh herbs. You can up the amount of Dijon and cut back on the amount of mayo if you'd like a less mayo-y crab cake, like me. Stir in the sauteed onions.

The mixture should just barely hold together at this point, still very loose. Form into loose balls, coat with bread crumbs or panko, and place on a sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (this will help them hold their shape).

Fry in 1/4 cup butter/oil, a few minutes on each side or until browned, over medium heat.