I made crab cakes with a red pepper aioli for Father’s Day and they came out very good… but not great (at least by my standards). I had some of the crab mixture left, so I decided to try another take on the crab cakes. For the second batch, I decided to serve them pan-fried (vs. baked) with a home made tartar sauce. Now this was a dish I thought was GREAT!
Tartar Sauce
Equal parts light mayo and Greek yogurt (I used approx 2-3 tbsp of each)
1 half-sour dill pickle, chopped
1-2 tbsp capers, chopped
Squirt of lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley
Fresh ground sea salt and pepper to taste
*You can also add 1-2 tsp chopped shallot (I didn’t have any)Combine yogurt and mayo in a bowl. Mix/fold in remaining ingredients. Serve with fried fish and/or crab cakes.

I baked the crab cakes last time and didn’t like the texture so much – I did this to keep the meal lower in fat, since I served it with homemade potato chips. This time, I decided to pan-fry the crab cakes in a little canola oil, until nicely browned on both sides.
I topped the crab cakes with a dollop of tartar sauce, a small slice of lemon and served a side salad comprised of:
Mesclun greens
Dried cranberries
Chopped walnuts
Crumbled goat cheese
Drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Fresh ground sea salt and pepper to taste
The meal was fabulous! I preferred it to the previous rendition… though the Husband liked them equally. Though I am a sucker for tartar sauce…
Thenks for posting this, I intend to try it out on guests this weekend using the pan fried method. I’ve been buying fresh fish from Legal Seafood’s takeout counter, and last week the man at the counter let me know they also sold panko breadcrumbs by the pint. Along with the fresh rolls and recommended wines they sell along with the fish or chowder you buy it is so convenient. Also this week I noticed their prices had dropped, and an employee told me because they were ordering a high volume for the Fourth of July weekend they pass along the savings o their takeout customers. Now why can’t OPEC do the same?