How To Give Fried Crab Cakes A Southern Twist With Cornbread

Tender, delectable, and filled with sweet seafood, crab cakes have become a staple of American cuisine. The treats have roots on the East Coast, but are popular across the country, making it inevitable for people to put their own twist on it. For crab cakes with a delicious southern spin, make them with cornbread.

These days, this meal is made with breadcrumbs, so it may seem unorthodox to prepare it using cornbread. However, the method is a little more traditional than you may think. Crab cakes were first made by Indigenous people along the Chesapeake Bay who used cornmeal to form the patties. Opting for cornbread rather than various types of breadcrumbs calls back to the original food while giving the modern ones a delectable revamp. Cornbread is a little sweet and nutty, with a texture that strikes the line between crunchy and fluffy. The hearty treat gives the fresh seafood a more luscious flavor, making it even better.

To make the cornbread crab cakes, whip up a batch of old-fashioned hot water cornbread or get a store-bought one. Allow the cornbread to cool before crumbling it up into a bowl, ensuring you get rid of any lumps as you do. Add in the shredded shellfish, followed by beaten eggs, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and minced green onions. Stir everything together until they're properly combined and form the patties. Fry them in vegetable oil until both sides are golden brown.

Thanks to its milder flavor, cornbread works with virtually any style of this dish you'd like to create. Classic Maryland crab cakes are a little different from their counterparts. They're made with Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce, giving it a bold, tangy, yet sweet flavor that emboldens the delicate-tasting cornbread. Rather than using saltine crackers, whip up the Maryland crab cakes with thick, crunchy cornbread for a heartier effect.

Cornbread can even work for gluten-free crab cakes with dill mayo. The recipe relies on polenta, which is a coarsely ground cornmeal. The patties, which use potatoes to be bound together, are dipped in the cornmeal to help give it a crisp exterior. You can swap out the polenta for medium-grind cornmeal or use gluten-free cornbread to form the patties instead of just the potatoes.

To really take your crab cakes up a notch, include other special ingredients besides the cornbread alone. Green onions are always a welcome addition, but also they taste incredible with chopped red peppers. To punch up the flavor of the cornbread and add a velvety touch, mix some cream cheese into the batter and sprinkle in some parmesan.