Outer Banks Crab Cakes
Dale S.
Crab cakes are more famous in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay region than the Down East region of coastal North Carolina, but Carolinians eat plenty of their own crab cakes and it seems that everyone has their own crab cake recipe. This recipe is from Ms. Dale S. who runs a small provision shop in the town on Frisco in the Outer Banks
- 1 cup, white sauce (flour, butter and milk)
- 1 egg
- 1 lb. crabmeat (lump or flake)
- dash, lemon juice
- 1 Tbs. Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ cup, fine breadcrumbs
- optional: horseradish
Dipping Sauce
- Horseradish
- Lemon juice
- Ketchup
- Texas Pete (the quintessential North Carolina hot sauce. Slightly sweeter than Tabasco)
To make the white sauce, melt butter and mix with flour. When mixed, add whole milk. Unlike a roux, you don’t want to brown the butter.
Mix the white sauce with the crabmeat, egg, lemon juice, Old Bay and horseradish. Add in enough breadcrumbs to just hold the mixture together, not to act as a filler.
Form patties and roll those in breadcrumbs.
Bake or fry the patties until they brown.
Mix the Dipping Sauce ingredients to taste.