cast-iron seared crab cake with maple candied duroc bacon, Asian pear, celeriac and gochujang aioli
Recipe courtesy of Matthew Gilbert, Executive Chef of Medinah (Ill.) Country Club
Ingredients
- jumbo lump crab - 3 oz.
- yuzu mayo - 2 oz.
- red onion - 1 oz.
- celery - 1 oz.
- salt - to taste
- homemade bread crumbs - as needed
- housemade aioli - 2 oz.
- gochujang paste - 1 Tbsp.
- yuzu juice - to taste
- honey - to taste (Chef's note: We use honey from our on-premise apiary.)
- salt - to taste
- arugula - 18 leaves
- Asian pear - 1/4 ea., julienned
- maple-lacquered duroc bacon - 1 slice, diced small
- popcorn shoots - 5 ea.
- candied walnuts - 1 oz., whole and crushed
- maple-caramelized onion dressing - 1.5 oz
- salt - to taste
Instructions
- For the crab cake, sweat the brunoised red onion and celery in vegetable oil with a small amount of salt until translucent. Cool. In a bowl, place the crab meat and cooked onion and celery. Add the mayo and some bread crumbs and gently mix to incorporate, making sure to leave the integrity of the crab meat intact. Season to taste with salt and adjust consistency with more yuzu mayo if needed. The texture should be as moist as possible while still being able to later sear and heat without losing structure. Once crab cake is formed, dip both faces in bread crumbs and set aside.
- Place homemade aioli in a mixing bowl and flavor to taste with the gochujang paste, yuzu juice, honey and salt. It should be tart with a hint of sweet and spicy enough to notice
- Have all salad ingredients on hand and ready. Sear the formed crab cake in a hot cast iron pan with enough vegetable oil to caramelize golden brown. Once first side is golden, gently turn over and move the pan to a preheated 375°F oven to heat through.
- While the crab cake is heating, toss together the salad ingredients in a small mixing bowl, using only enough dressing to coat everything but not enough to become soggy. Season to taste with salt. It should be bitter, sweet, sour and salty, with some savory flavor from the bacon.
- Remove hot crab cake from the oven. Remove from cast-iron and dab any oil off. Set aside on a sizzle platter. Plate the gochujang aioli in a circle on a circular plate. Place the crab cake in the center of that and then carefully twist together the salad ingredients in the mixing bowl in order to sit nicely atop the crab cake. Plate as such and then garnish with crushed and whole candied walnuts and a few drops of the maple-caramelized onion emulsified vinaigrette.
cast iron seared crab cake with maple candied duroc bacon, Asian pear, celeriac and gochujang aioli
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