Monday, February 2, 2009

RECIPE: A&Z's Gluten-Freed Crabcakes

Source: all recipes

Original Recipe: Baked Maryland Lump Crabcakes

Gluten-Freed by A: Since crabcakes only have one glutenous ingredient to start with (in this recipe at least), it was an easy thing to substitute crushed Rice Chex for the bread crumbs. This makes our gluten-free crabcakes another food that no one would realize the recipe had been edited unless you told them. Other than the modifications that I made by adding bacon and Gruyere cheese, the credit for the tastiness of this goes to the original creator.

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cup Rice Chex, crushed (Gluten-Freed!!)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1/8 tsp. black pepper
  • 3 tsp. seafood seasoning
  • 2 tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 lb. lump crab meat
  • 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup bacon, chopped
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
  2. Combine Rice Chex, baking powder, parsley, pepper, and seafood seasoning; set aside. Stir together butter, Worcestershire, and eggs until smooth. Fold in crab meat, then fold in dry mixture, bacon, and cheese until well blended.
  3. Shape mixture into 12 crab cakes, about 3/4 inch thick, and place onto prepared baking sheet.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the crab cakes over, and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until nicely browned.

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
As far as a gluten-free dish goes, this is definitely one of the best we have made so far. The bacon and Gruyere made subtle additions to the flavor of the cake, without overwhelming the crab. I might add more cheese next time, as it could hardly be tasted at all. The cakes were thick and tasty, well-liked by everyone who ate them.

Z's Review: * * * * *
This was really yummy - and it was really fun to see A get so creative with his cooking! I have to admit that I don't have a ton of experience with crab, so this tasted a bit more fishy than I expected. But I guess that's a result of using real crab! (I recently discovered that imitation crab often has wheat starch in it, so be careful with those California rolls if you're gluten-free!) I couldn't directly taste the bacon that A had added, but I'm sure it added to the overall flavor, which was delicious. Plus, A says he'll probably use more bacon next time and you can't go wrong with that!

3 comments:

  1. I was there. It was more than delicious and having the fresh spinach salad, either under the crab cakes or on the side, was great.

    Three cheers to A!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am the creator of the original recipe. Thanks for the rave reviews. This get's alot of attention on allrecipes.com because it is baked instead of fried, unlike most crab cakes! I wanted to put this online because I am in fact from MD, and grew up on the Chesapeake Bay on Kent Island, MD. Everyone seems to think that crab cakes need green peppers or red peppers or sometimes even onion, but truth be told, you are not making a true MD crab cake if you add the peppers. Although I am not familiar with gluten free cooking or really do not know what that means, I will most definently try the recipe with your version. I like the idea of adding a different flavor to these (even if it's not true MD style....LOL!). Thanks again guys for the rave reviews. My email is Kentjava44@aol.com if you would like to respond to this post!! Have a great day! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks so much for checking out our review! We really enjoyed your crabcakes! Although I'm not sure we had a true MD crab cake either, seeing as A added bacon and cheese (which I think he saw in a different crabcake recipe). Next time I think we'll try it exactly the same as your recipe (except for the breadcrumbs) so that we can experience the true MD flavor, now that we know its authentic!!

    The reason for switching breadcrumbs with rice chex has to do with being gluten-free. In case you're interested, gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. The most extreme form of gluten sensitivity is called Celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disease of the lower intestine that requires a person to avoid eating gluten completely. While I don't have Celiac, I have another autoimmune disease called rheumatoid arthritis, where my immune system attacks my joints and causes fatigue. A gluten-free diet is thought to help with controlling the symptoms of RA - so I figure it's worth a try! (If you're interested in learning more about RA or gluten-free, you can check out my RA blog: http://fromthispoint-forward.blogspot.com/)

    So that's what Gluten-Free from A to Z is about - reviewing gluten-free products and converting recipes we love to gluten-free versions so I can still eat them!

    Thanks again for your comments!!

    ReplyDelete

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