Zampini and Hicks at the cook-off. Photo by Kathy Atkinson
Carl Zampini is known for his crab cakes. Now that he’s the winner of the Coast Day Crab Cake Cook-Off, he can say he makes the best cakes in all of Delaware.
Zambini squared off against seven other finalists in the Oct. 5 event, held at the University of Delaware’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. Zampini won for “Carl’s Crab Cakes with a Meyer Lemon Rémoulade,” a recipe that begins with a traditional crab cake but has a special sauce to add an interesting culinary twist.
“The lemon was more of a trendy way to make the traditional more gourmet,” he said.
Zambini, who works as a chef at UD, received a $200 cash prize and a new griddle for his win. His recipe stood out to the judges because the taste of the crab came through and the other flavors worked well together, said judge Lisa Weddig of the National Fisheries Institute.
Judging the friendly competition along with Weddig were Scott Douglass, senior vice president and treasurer at UD, and Darla Koff, a resident of Frederica, Del., and last year’s winner. It was fun to be a judge, Weddig said, but it wasn’t an easy job.
“It was a very hard decision,” she said. “It was a close race. I think the top three differed by only one point.”
Second place and a $150 prize went to Spencer Hunt of Monkton, Md., for his “Crustacean Sensation Crab Cakes.” His recipe featured a lemon-honey mustard sauce that used sour cream, honey, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice.
Winning third place and $100 was Raymond Williams of Bear, Del., with his “Delaware Crab Cakes with Corn Relish.” Williams’ cakes included chopped green and red peppers and a chili mixture containing mayonnaise, spicy mustard, and chili sauce. In addition to corn, the relish included garlic, grape tomatoes, red onions, and Old Bay seasoning.
Other finalists in the competition included Bonnie Robinson, of Seaford, Del.; Shawn West, of Milford, Del.; Steve Ruiz, of Wilmington, Del.; David Brown, of Northeast, Md.; and Jill Culbert, of New York. The finalists set up their favorite appliances under a tent to prepare their recipes in front of the judges and interested onlookers looking to help taste-test any leftovers.
“We had a lot of really interesting finalists this year, such as ‘East Meets West with Dikon Radish and Cucumber Salad’,” said Doris Hicks, seafood specialist with Delaware Sea Grant and organizer of the Coast Day seafood competitions. “Another was a hickory smoked lump crab cake. We’ve been doing this for 19 years and you never know what’s going to win.”
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 by calling 302-831-8083. The cookbook costs $6.
Coast Day, which is organized by UD’s College of Marine and Earth Studies (CMES) and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, attracts thousands of visitors each year to celebrate Delaware’s coastal resources and experience marine research.
For more information about Coast Day, which will take place next year on Sunday, Oct. 4, visit www.deseagrant.org/coastday or call 302-831-8083.
To learn more about the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, visit www.deseagrant.org.
For more about CMES, visit www.ocean.udel.edu.
2008 Coast Day Crab Cake Cook-Off Winning Recipes
First Place
Carl’s Crab Cakes with a Meyer Lemon Rémoulade
Carl Zampini
Newark, DE
2 pounds jumbo lump crabmeat
2 cups mayonnaise
2 eggs
4 tablespoons Old Bay
1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 drops of hot sauce
Juice of 1 ½ lemons
3 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
Meyer Lemon Rémoulade
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons capers
2 teaspoons chopped gherkins
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
½ teaspoon anchovies
Juice of 2 Meyer lemons
Preparation Instructions:
Mix mayonnaise, eggs, Old Bay, Worcestershire, hot sauce, lemon juice and parsley. Add mix to crabmeat, mix lightly. Add bread crumbs and mix. Scoop into the size of cake you want. Sauté until brown on both sides. Bake in oven for 8 minutes.
Meyer lemon rémoulade: Mix together and chill.
Second Place
Crustacean Sensation Crab Cakes
Spencer Hunt
Monkton, MD
2 pounds jumbo lump crabmeat
2 medium shallots, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons soy sauce
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons lemon pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 ½ teaspoons seasoned salt
1 cup Panko (a.k.a. Japanese breadcrumbs)
Olive oil
Lemon-Honey Mustard Sauce
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup honey
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup sour cream
Garnishes
Lemon and raspberries
Preparation Instructions:
Sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft.
In a mixing bowl, add mayonnaise, Dijon, soy sauce, egg whites, basil, shallot/garlic mixture, lemon pepper, red pepper, and seasoned salt and whisk together thoroughly. Next, add the crab meat and gently fold together.
Refrigerate the covered mixture for at least one hour. Form the mixture into 12 cakes and roll each cake in the Panko until coated and refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.
Pour olive oil into pan and bring to medium heat. Cook the cakes for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Sprinkle sauce over crab cakes or serve on the side. Garnish with lemon and raspberries.
Third Place
Delaware Crab Cakes with Corn Relish
Raymond Williams
Bear, DE
Crab Cake Ingredients:
2 pounds jumbo lump crabmeat
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped green onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
2 cups Chile Mixture* (see below)
3 cups plus 4 tablespoons dried bread crumbs or Panko breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons Old Bay
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
Crab Cake Preparation Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions and green and red bell peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Combine the mayonnaise mixture, a little at a time, with the cooked vegetables, 1 cup plus 4 tablespoons of the bread crumbs, and 2 tablespoon of the Old Bay in a large bowl, and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.
Combine the flour with 3 tablespoons of the Old Bay in a shallow bowl and mix well. Combine the remaining 2 cup of bread crumbs with the remaining 3 Tablespoons of Old Bay in another bowl. Whisk 2 eggs with the milk in another bowl.
Using your hands, form mini cakes with the crabmeat mixture, packing gently but firmly. Dredge each crab cake in the flour mixture, then in the egg wash, then the bread crumb mixture, shaking to remove any excess breading.
Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Pan-fry the crab cakes 3 or 4 at a time until golden brown, about 4-1/2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. To serve, arrange the crab cakes on a platter and top each with a spoonful of the relish.
Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 11 minutes Yield: 30-40 mini cakes
Chile Mixture
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup spicy mustard
½ cup sweet chili sauce
Preparation: combine all the ingredients. Make the day before and chill to marry the flavors.
Corn Relish
8 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups corn kernels (fresh Delaware corn)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Old Bay
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 cup chopped grape tomatoes
6 tablespoons minced red onions
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon Rocken Rye wine
In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring until starting to lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, Old Bay, and the cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant and the corn is caramelized, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. In a bowl, combine the corn and the remaining ingredients. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: about 3 cups