Mr. B's Jumbo Crab Cakes.

Jump Lump Crabcakes
from Mr. B's Bistro

There are crabcakes, and then there are Mr. B’s crabcakes. Ours are so good because they’re primarily crabmeat, with a just enough breadcrumbs and mayonnaise to hold the mixture together. We serve them all day long—they’re brunch under poached eggs with hollandaise, they’re lunch with a salad, and they make a great starter for dinner.

We recommend using Japanese breadcrumbs called panko here for their incredible lightness. You can find them in specialty food markets and Asian markets. Fine dried breadcrumbs can be used in their place, but the cakes won’t be as light.

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced fine
1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced fine
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
3 scallions, sliced thin
juice of 1/4 lemon
1/4 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
ravigote sauce as accompaniment
In a large bowl combine crabmeat, bell peppers, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, scallions, lemon juice, hot sauce, and Creole seasoning, being careful not to break up crabmeat lumps. Using a round cookie cutter (2 1/2 inches by 1 inch), fill cutter with mixture and form into cakes. Place on a baking sheet. Chill cakes, uncovered, 1 hour to help set.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper on a plate and lightly dust cakes in flour.

In a large skillet melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add half of cakes and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes each side. Cook the remaining cakes in the same manner. Serve cakes with ravigote.
Yield: Makes 8 cakes.

Ravigote Sauce
This sauce is New Orleans through and through. It can be served with all sorts of seafood—boiled shrimp and crab, crawfish, fried oysters, and crabcakes.

2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/2 red bell pepper, diced fine
1/2 large Anaheim chile pepper or green bell pepper, diced fine
1 hard-boiled egg, diced
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 3/4 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
3/4 teaspoon hot sauce
kosher salt and white pepper to taste
In a medium bowl whisk together lemon juice and dry mustard. Whisk in mayonnaise, bell pepper, chile, egg, parsley, horseradish, mustard, tarragon, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.

Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups