By Regina Schrambling

 

When you visit North Carolina's Outer Banks, you'll soon find yourself engaged in a new sport: searching out the best crab cakes. Most restaurants showcase local seafood, and you could dine on a different version every night of your vacation. But the make-or-break factor for all good crab cakes is that they're mostly crab, not filler. That also makes them seductively easy to cook yourself if you have a stove, a decent skillet and a refrigerator. (The fridge is crucial, because chilling is the secret to making mostly-crab crab cakes: You bind them with a minimum of bread crumbs and they still hold together for quick frying.)

 

Superb seafood is sold at places like Austin Seafood Co. in Nags Head, Risky Business  in Hatteras and Avon (all open seasonally), and the Ocracoke Seafood Co., which helps preserve the local fishing industry. Amy Huggins of Outer Banks Epicurean, which offers cooking classes and food tours (outerbanksepicurean.com), recommends Carawan's in Kitty Hawk, Captain Malc's in Wanchese and Harbor House in Hatteras. Top-of-the-line jumbo lump crab is your best bet--pricey, but still cheaper than going out to eat.

 

While you could broil or bake the cakes, frying gives you the most control for a crisp crust and succulent center. Crab cakes are usually served with a tartar or remoulade sauce, but devotees insist on no more than a squeeze of lemon.  

 

CRAB CAKES
1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat
½ cup fine dry bread crumbs or finely crushed saltines
4 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning, or to taste
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, or to taste dash of Tabasco, or to taste
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 egg
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup olive oil or peanut oil

 

Pick over crabmeat to remove any cartilage or shell. Place in large bowl with bread crumbs (or saltines), scallions, parsley, Old Bay, Worcestershire and Tabasco; toss with fork to combine. Fold in mayonnaise. Taste; add more seasonings if needed. Add egg and blend just until the mixture holds together. Gently shape into 8 fat, round crab cakes. Lay onto a sheet pan lined with wax paper. Cover with more wax paper and chill for at least 1 hour.

 

To cook, combine butter and oil in a large frying pan (or two smaller ones) over medium heat. When fat is hot, gently slide crab cakes into the pan(s) and fry 4 minutes on each side, until the outside is crisp and browned. Serve hot. Serves four.

 

STAY

 

RCI-affiliated resorts on the Outer Banks include:

 

BARRIER ISLAND STATION--KITTY HAWK
SEA SCRAPE BEACH & GOLF VILLAS, KITTY HAWK

 

For more information, visit RCI.com or call 

 

Weeks: 800-338-7777  
Points: 877-968-7476

 

Club Members, please call your specific Club or RCI telephone number.