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Is it easy to cook frozen crab cakes?
Flipping the calendar back to the 1800s around the Chesapeake Bay, you’ll see families gathering together in the fall to pick crabs and pack fresh cakes for the winter. Crab meat doesn’t last long fresh, so each member had a sense of urgency to get all the jumbo, lump, and claw meat out of the crab. First, they pulled up on the back apron and snapped it off, exposing a little hole between the top shell and the belly-side where the apron tab pulled from. They quickly pried off the shell or carapace and scraped away all the lungs and mushy “stuff”. Then they snapped the crab in two equal halves. Tapping shells, picking huge lumps from the back swimming legs, and searching with precision tools to get all the lump from every crevice. They even added the claws and legs to the adventure with its fibrous robust meat. All three meat mix into a cake back during these winter survival days. Pristine, clean tasting, and slightly buttery jumbo, salty-sweet lump and the robust claw all found a place in this frozen crab cake.
Cooking convenience is at a premium with a frozen cake, but preparation requires some simple steps. Take the cake and place it on a plate to thaw in the refrigerator. Decide if you want to pan-fry or bake. In the pan, you’ll reach a more caramelized, sweeter result as the amino acids in the meat cook into sweet tasting edges. Preheat the skillet with a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil at medium-high heat. Too high will cause instant burning, so ease into it. Pinch some Old Bay on the cakes and cook for about 3 minutes per side for that golden brown. As far as the oven, turn the dial to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush the cakes with olive oil, pinch some Old Bay, and place them on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Flip them, carefully at around the 7 minute mark. Cooking a frozen cake gives you calendar friendly choices, and the results are scrumptious!
