Green Chile Crab Cakes

crabcake, originally uploaded by Kim De.

Rick Bayless has a new website all about partying! It includes lots of great recipes using Frontera Grill Salsas as shortcuts so the host can attend the party too!

I'm all about that!

The party where these were served was a party for two. Sooooooo good - I'm not sure I want to make these for company. We loved them so much that they may have to our little secret!

The other little secret, these were very easy.Against the grain, I basically followed the instructions to the letter, except I used the food processor to mix everything together.

Another plus is the make ahead component. I rolled them into balls and wrapped in plastic wrap. When ready to cook, I pressed them into disks, placed them in the freezer for a few minutes, then fried them up in a minimal amount of oil.

They were light, not greasy, and not at all spicy (for those of you that shy away from the "caliente" flavors).

Now that I have you salivating, I'll let you see the recipe.

Green Chile Crab Cakes with Green Chile Mayo (Rick Bayless)

1 pound crab meat
1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
½ cup Frontera Tomatillo Salsa
2 whole large eggs
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
2 TB mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
2 TB olive or vegetable oil for pan-frying
2 limes, cut into wedges for garnish

Green Chile Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Frontera Tomatillo Salsa
1 TB cilantro, chopped
¼ tsp salt


Combine the crab meat, panko, ½ cup salsa, eggs, cilantro, mayonnaise and salt until well mixed. Form the mixture into 1 ½” patties about ½” thick. Lay them on a plate or tray lined with plastic wrap. To let the patties set a little, place covered in the freezer while making the sauce.

For the sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients together until well combined.

In a large skillet (nonstick works well here), heat the oil over medium. Lay the cakes in the hot oil in a single layer and fry until crispy and browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip the cakes over with a spatula and brown the other side, about 2 minutes more. It will probably take at least 2 batches to fry all the cakes.

Arrange cakes on serving plate and drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.