Chef Justin Ferguson returned to his hometown after completing two tours with the Army, graduating from the Louisiana Culinary Insitute and overseeing four restaurants in Chicago. Back in the Bayou State, Chef Ferguson is gaining attention for his Southern seafood and barbecue spot BRQ Seafood & Barbecue, which he opened last summer. Today, he shares his crab cake recipe, which showcases his love of his home state.
Louisiana Crab Cakes
Author: Chef Justin Ferguson
Ingredients
- ¼ cup diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup diced shallots
- 2 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. coarse grain mustard
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup fine chopped parsley
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp. Creole seasoning
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup clarified butter
Instructions
- Sauté bell pepper, shallots and garlic until tender and then let cool. Combine with mustard, mayonnaise, parsley, eggs, salt and seasoning and fold together. Lastly, fold in the crab meat.
- Portion out 5 oz. of the crab mix. On a sheet pan, lightly place panko on bottom of a ring mold and add portioned crab mix. Press down. Cover the top with panko and press down. Push the crab mix down and remove the ring mold. Repeat with remaining crab mix. Let set in cooler for 3 hours.
- Place 1/4 cup of butter in a hot cast iron skillet. Brush crab cakes with remaining butter and pan sear in cast iron over medium heat. Cook approximately 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Garnish, serve and enjoy!
