Steven's Perfect Dungeness Crab Cakes from Etta's in Seattle

I have searched the continent over and for the past 20 years have maybe enjoyed a crab cake or two that was worth talking about.  I've been to high end seafood restaurants that served "fake crab" as a crab cake and I've been to nice little seafood shacks that fried the shit out of them so horribly I actually left them behind as no amount of fresh lemon could redeem my little crabby patties.

And then something happened.  Today I went to Etta's near the Pike Place Market in Seattle and found what I had been looking for all of my crab cake life:  Steven's Perfect Dungeness Crab Cakes.

I bought the cookbook by Seattle's famous chef Tom Douglas who owns Etta's and folded the page immediately.  Here is the recipe for the best crab cake that I have ever had...give it a try.

1 pound of Dungeness crabmeat, drained, picked clean of shell, and lightly squeezed if wet.
1/2 cup, plus 2 tbsp. of mayonnaise, preferably Hellmann's or Best Foods
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. of grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. of fresh dill
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. of thinly sliced chives
1/2 tsp. of kosher salt
1/4 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup of panko plus 2 more cups for dredging
About 5 tbsp. of unsalted butter
4 lemon wedges
4 dill sprigs

To make the crab cakes, put the crabmeat, mayo, lemon zest, dill, chives, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Mix everything together gently with a rubber spatula.  Add the 1/2 cup of panko and mix again.  Pour the remaining 2 cups panko into a shallow container.  Form the crab mixture into 8 patties.  Pat them gently into shape without pressing them too much.  Drop the patties into the panko and turn them to coat both sides, patting to shake off the excess.  If you have time, cover with plastic wrap and chill the crab cakes in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more before frying.

When you are ready to fry the crab cakes, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Put 2 large non-stick ovenproof skillets over medium-high heat and add about 2 1/2 tbsp. of butter to eat pan.  As soon as the butter is melted, add 4 crab cakes to each pan.  Leave the pans on the burners for a minute or slightly less (the butter should not start to brown), then place the pans in the oven.  Cook the crab cakes until they are heated through and golden brown on both sides, about 12 minutes, carefully turning them with a spatula about halfway through the cooking time.  Remove the pans from the oven and transfer the crap cakes to plates, serving 2 crab cakes to each person.  Serve with a lemon wedge and a dill sprig over top.

At the restaurant they served a very nice mellow green dipping sauce, probably a mayo base, but I never once put my cake in it....it was beautiful without all that "makeup."  Bon Appetite!