Creating a Delicious Crab Cake Sauce

There are numerous different sauces that can be created for crab cakes. Depending on your tastes, you may find a certain type of sauce that is a delicious crab cake sauce and a certain type may not be so great.

There are five different grades of crab: special, jumbo lump, back fin, claw and claw fingers. Special, claw meat and claw fingers are the most commonly used in sauces or soups. Special, claw meat and claw fingers are generally used for crab cakes, quesadillas, stuffed mushrooms and salads. The meat is generally smaller flakes (or in the case of the claws, chunks) of crab meat. Claw meat and claw fingers have a stronger crab taste than the rest of the meat, which makes it perfect for soups and crab cake sauces, as the rest of the ingredients are not as likely to completely mask the crab flavor.

Jumbo lump is reserved for cocktail presentations. It is the best part of the crab, and can be quite expensive. It is the two chunks of meat where the last two legs meet the body.

Back fin is generally used in upscale restaurants for dishes such as crab cakes, salads, crab toppings or sautéed dishes. It is also used as a garnish for meats and vegetables stuffed with a crab stuffing. Back fin is located just to the front of the jumbo lump.

Dijon Crab Cake Sauce
2 small shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup Dijon mustard

Sauté the shallots and garlic until the shallots are translucent. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Reduce for 30 to 50 seconds. Add the mustard and salt and bring to a boil.

Remove the sauce from the heat and gently stir in the butter. Makes about 8 ounces.

Remoulade Sauce for Crab Cakes
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup cottage cheese
¼ cup salsa (preferably hot)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup yogurt (plain)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree. Chill for at least 2 hours prior to serving.

Spicy Avocado Sauce for Crab Cakes
1 avocado, medium sized, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon. sugar
2 hot chile peppers (including seeds), cut in quarters lengthwise
½ cup milk

Put the avocado, mayonnaise, lime juice, salt, sugar and one chile pepper in a food processor and pulse until the peppers are finely chopped. Add the milk and puree. Taste - if you like it spicier, add more of the chile peppers.