Crab Cake with a Soft-Boiled Egg Inside

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Champagne vinegar
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• 3 Baby candy-striped beets (Thinly sliced)
• 3 Red beets (Thinly sliced)
• 3 Baby yellow beets (Thinly sliced)
• 1 cup Water (For the pickling liquid)
• 1 lb Jumbo lump crabmeat
• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (For the crab cake mixture)
• 2 tbsp Creole mustard
• 2 tbsp Seafood seasoning (Such as Old Bay)
• 1 tbsp Red bell pepper (Finely diced)
• 1 tbsp Yellow bell pepper (Finely diced)
• 1 tbsp Scallions (Chopped)
• 1 tbsp Scotch bonnet peppers (Finely diced)
• 1 tsp Fresh thyme (Chopped)
• 1 Egg (For the crab cake mixture)
• 2 tsp Salt (For the soft-boiling water)
• 8 cups Water (For boiling the eggs)
• 6 Large organic eggs (For soft-boiling)
• 6 cups Canola or vegetable oil (About 6 cups, for frying)
• 1 cup Milk (For the egg wash)
• 2 Eggs (For the egg wash)
• 4 cups Panko breadcrumbs (For breading)
• 2 cups Cornstarch (For breading)
• 1 cup Fresh parsley leaves (For serving)
• 1 cup Kale leaves (Thinly sliced, for serving)
• Olive oil (For drizzling)

Steps

1. 1

   For the pickled beets, bring the sugar, champagne vinegar, fennel seeds, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepot.

2. 2

   Place the sliced candy-striped, red, and yellow beets in a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling pickling liquid over them and let them sit for 20 minutes.

3. 3

   For the crab cakes, put the crabmeat, mayonnaise, crab-cake panko, Creole mustard, seafood seasoning, red and yellow bell peppers, scallions, Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, and 1 egg in a large bowl. Lightly toss until combined, then set aside.

4. 4

   For the soft-boiled eggs, bring 8 cups water to a rolling boil and add the salt. Prepare an ice water bath.

5. 5

   Place the 6 eggs into the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Immediately transfer them to the ice bath to halt the cooking.

6. 6

   When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them and set them aside.

7. 7

   For breading and frying, heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or deep fryer until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.

8. 8

   Whisk the milk and 2 eggs together in a shallow bowl. Place the breading panko and cornstarch in separate shallow bowls.

9. 9

   Mold one-sixth of the crab cake mixture around one soft-boiled egg to form a ball. Roll the coated egg in cornstarch, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the panko. Repeat with the remaining crab mixture and eggs.

10. 10

    Carefully lower each coated egg into the 350-degree-F oil and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes.

11. 11

    Remove the crab cakes with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.

12. 12

    Dress each plate with parsley, kale, and pickled beets. Place a crab cake-covered egg on top and drizzle with olive oil.

Notes

The source notes that the total time includes pickling and cooling time. The recipe was provided by a culinary professional and has not been tested for home use. An ice-water bath is required, but its quantity is not specified.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• American
• seafood
• crab
• fried
• intermediate
• holiday
• restaurant-style