Crab cakes with a southern twist

Being from Maryland, I had to try to make my own crab cakes for the Superbowl.  The only problem is that no one in my family likes crabs except me.  So, I tried this southern style recipe and simply replaced the crab with salmon.  I also made my own remoulade sauce.

Loosely interpreted from Cajun Cooking

Crab Cakes with Remoulade

1lb crab, lump and picked through
4 strips of bacon cut in half
1 T butter
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/4 t cayenne
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 C mayo
1 t whole grain mustard
hot sauce (optional)
1 t parsley or Italian seasoning
1 T lemon juice
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, make sure they are dried out
2 T veggie oil
Remoulade sauce (see below)

1. Cook bacon in a skillet in two batches until they are very crispy.
2. Reserve the drippings and snack on the stips as needed (or see the suggestion at the bottom of this post).
3. Add the butter to the pan without cleaning it out.
4. Add onion, pepper, garlic, salt, chili powder, black pepper and cayenne and cook, stirring until the veggies are soft, but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Transfer veggies to a mixing bowl and let them cool for about 15 minutes.
6. Add the crab, egg, mayo, mustard, hot sauce, seasoning, lemon juice and 1/4 C of the bread crumbs to the veggies.  Gently mix the ingredients together.
7. Form 4 patties using a biscuit cutter to get straight edges looking like hockey pucks.
8. Put the cakes on a plate and cover to refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes or overnight.
9. To cook the cakes, put the bacon drippings plus 2 T oil into a skillet.
10. Put remaining bread crumbs in pie pan.
11.  Dredge both sides of the cakes in the bread crumbs shaking off excess.
12.  When the oil comes to temp, add the cakes and fry for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Make sure you do not crowd the pan frying in batches if needed.  Serve immediately.

Remoulade Sauce

Mix 1 cup mayo, 1 t Old Bay, 2 t lemon juice together and then refrigerate.  Drizzle over the crab cakes when they are nice and hot.

Family Factor: very good, but suggest to crumble up the bacon to add to the mixture with the crab (hmm...next time!)
Stomach Factor: you can make this as spicy or mild as you want
Time Factor: actually, surprised on how quickly this can be done

Good luck Raven fans!