Crab Cake Bites with Rémoulade Sauce

One of the most fun things about holiday cooking and eating is the party food. My holiday season isn’t complete without these warm Crab Cake Bites with Remoulade Sauce. They’re the easiest and tastiest bite-size crab cakes you’ll ever make. 

Here are a couple of secrets to success. Use high-quality fresh crab from the seafood department rather than a can off the grocery shelf. Jumbo lump crab meat is perfect, but it’s pricey, so I often combine jumbo lump with regular lump when I’m making a big batch of bites. The second trick is to bake the bites in a mini muffin pan instead of frying them. They turn out perfectly uniform with a crisp, golden-brown crust – with no mess. A dollop of the creamy, zippy rémoulade sauce is the perfect accompaniment. 

Makes 24

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives, divided
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• Large pinch of cayenne pepper
• 12 ounces fresh lump and/or jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 6 to 8 butter, melted
• Rémoulade Sauce, for serving (recipe follows below)

For the Crab Cake Bites

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 24-cup mini muffin pan or mist it with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat the cream cheese, egg, and sour cream until smooth in a large bowl with a mixer set on low speed. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cheese, 1 tablespoon of the chives, the orange zest, lemon zest, salt, Old Bay and cayenne. Fold in the crabmeat.

Stir together the panko, the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of chives in a shallow bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumb mixture and toss to moisten. 

Use a 1-ounce spring-loaded scoop (or two spoons) to drop a ping-pong-ball size portions of the crab mixture into the panko mixture, and gently toss until evenly coated to form a light crust. Gently transfer the coated ball into the muffin pan. Repeat to fill the muffin pan.  

Bake until the crab bites are set and golden on top, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, run a knife around the edge of each cake to loosen and lift them out. Serve warm with a little Rémoulade Sauce.

Make-Ahead Notes: 

The recipe can be made through Step 2 up to one day ahead. Store covered and refrigerated. 

The cakes can be baked up to 2 hours ahead. Let the cakes rest on a baking sheet at room temperature and then warm in a 350°F. oven for 6 to 8 minutes. 

Rémoulade Sauce

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grainy Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1 tablespoon drained capers
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon no-too-hot sauce, or to taste (such as Texas Pete or Crystal)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (sweet or smoked)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Stir together all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.