Similar to many Delawareans, Darla Koff doesn’t like a lot of filler in her crab cakes. As the Frederica, Del., resident sought the perfect balance of crab and complementary ingredients, she searched her pantry.
“I like a crab cake to taste like crab,” Koff explained. “One day I had a box of cornmeal and I just tried it.”
The resulting recipe, “Cornmeal Crab Cakes,” was a winner — literally. Koff’s cakes earned the honor of “Delaware’s Best Crab Cakes” in front of a large crowd at the University of Delaware’s Coast Day festival on Sunday, Oct. 7. The winner received a $150 check, a plaque and an invitation to return as a judge for next year’s competition.
“I’m a stay at home mother and I love to cook,” Koff said, explaining that she uses her family as taste-testers for her recipes. “I’ve never entered this competition. I’ve done competitions at the fair like the beef cook-off. I love doing this kind of thing. It’s very fun.”
Also enjoying themselves at the Crab Cake Cook-Off were the competition’s three judges. Last year’s winner, Lynne Laino, served as a judge along with Chris Moore from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Theresa Medoff, a freelance writer. Medoff explained that the panel had eight finalists to choose from and she was stuffed after trying each one multiple times.
“The ones I thought I might like by looking at the recipe were not the ones I liked when I tasted them,” she said. “We all really like the sweetness that (the cornmeal) added. It wasn’t overpowering with the crab.”
According to the judges, only a slim margin separated second and third places. John Joseph Yanek of North Catasauqua, Pa., earned second and a $100 check with “JJ’s Crab Cakes,” a recipe that uses mayonnaise, mustard, paprika, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce for a defining flavor.
Earning third-place honors and a $75 check was Terri Carr of Lewes, Del., with her “Superlious Crab Cakes,” which are served with a lemon dill sauce. Her cakes include ingredients such as Old Bay, lemon juice, hot sauce, and half and half.
Other finalists, who set up their cooking stations under a tent to prepare their recipes for onlookers, included: Martha Mihaly Black, from Millville, Del.; Crystal Maccari, from Elkton, Md.; Gregory Alexander, from Townsend, Del.; Sherry Palese, from Elkton, Md.; and Tim Scanlon, from New Cumberland, Pa.
Doris Hicks, seafood specialist for the Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, said the purpose of the seafood event is to promote the use of local seafood.
Hicks, who has organized the cook-off since its inception 18 years ago, offered some final thoughts for crab-cake cooks attempting the winning recipes or trying to perfect their own.
“The crabmeat itself is important. The best is to use the jumbo lump,” she said. “The key is not to over mix it. You want to keep as much of the lumps in tact so the flavor of the ingredients complements the meat itself.”
Each finalist received a copy of the commemorative Coast Day Crab Cake Cookbook, which contains all the finalists’ recipes from the first 17 years of the contest. Copies are available from the University of Delaware Marine Public Education Office in Newark at 302-831-8083 or the Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service in Lewes at 302-645-4346. The cookbook costs $6.
Coast Day, which is sponsored by the UD’s College of Marine and Earth Studies (CMES) and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, attracts approximately 10,000 visitors annually to celebrate Delaware’s coastal resources and experience marine research.
To learn more about CMES and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, visit www.ocean.udel.edu.
Coast Day 2007 Crab Cake Cook-Off Winning Recipes
FIRST PLACE
Cornmeal Crab Cakes
By Darla Koff, Frederica, Del.
Cornmeal Crab Cakes
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 egg
- 2 pounds lump blue crab meat
- 1 package prepared cornbread mix
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Sauté onions in small saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add green peppers and cook for 5 more minutes. Add garlic, pepper, Old Bay, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Cook while stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- In large bowl, mix mayonnaise and egg until smooth. Stir in onion mixture completely. Gently fold in crabmeat. Sprinkle large rimmed baking sheet with ¼ cup cornbread mix. Pour the remaining cornbread mix onto a plate. Gently form crab cakes and coat with the cornbread mix on plate. Place crab cakes onto baking sheet. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté crab cakes for 3 minutes each side. (Do not crowd pan. Cook in batches.) Enjoy!!
SECOND PLACE
JJ’s Crab Cakes
By John Joseph Yanek, North Catasauqua, Pa.
JJ’s Crab Cakes
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ¼ tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 16 saltines, crushed
- 2 pounds lump blue crab meat
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Mix above ingredients together except crabmeat and butter. Fold in crabmeat. Form into 2–3 inch, round crab cakes. Broil butter until golden brown. Place crab cakes in butter and broil until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot.
THIRD PLACE
Superlious Crab Cakes
By Terri Carr, Lewes, Del.
Superlious Crab Cakes
- 2 pounds jumbo lump blue crab meat
- 1 ½ cups cubed bread
- ½ cup green pepper, finely chopped
- ½ cup onion, finely chopped
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 6 tablespoons half and half
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon horseradish
- 3 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- Dash hot sauce
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 1 cup Panko crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs)
- Shortening
- Combine crabmeat and cubed bread then add green pepper and onion. In a separate bowl whisk together next 11 ingredients. Gently fold in crab mixture. Mix parsley and crumbs. Shape crab into patties, coat with crumb mixture, chill. Heat shortening in skillet, add patties, cook until brown; turn, cook other side until brown. Serve with lemon dill sauce.
Lemon Dill Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lemon rind, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon lemon verbena, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dill weed
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- Mix all sauce ingredients, cover and chill.