Local Chef Shares Summer Crab Cakes Recipe

This is the first in a series profiling local chefs and sharing their favorite summer recipes:

Paul Bentsen, executive chef at The Shore Restaurant and Lounge, sauntered into the restaurant's kitchen with a childlike grin on his face as he prepared to cook some of the restaurant's happy hour appetizers on Monday, including the jalapeño bacon bruleed crab cakes.

Along with a menu full of modern seafood dishes, The Shore offers happy hour drink specials and late-night tapas. But, according to Benson, the crab cakes are the crowd pleasure.

Crab Cakes

1 pound fresh crab leg

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

2 strips of smoked bacon, finely chopped

1/3 cup crushed jalapenos

2 red onions, finely chopped

1 lemon wedge

1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/2 cup garlic oil

Dash of optional seasoning

Dash of raw sugar

Butter Sauce

1 cup butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup Champagne

Drain the crabmeat, if necessary, and put in a medium mixing bowl. Gently mix in the light mayonnaise, breaking up the lumps of crabmeat with your fingers, but do not over mix.

Mix together the rest of the ingredients: smoked bacon, fresh jalapenos and red onion. Drizzle lemon juice over the mixture by squeezing the lemon wedge.

Finally, mix in the breadcrumbs and a dash of seasoning of choice, such as one teaspoon of paprika or cayenne pepper. Form balls of crab cakes with mixture, pressing down in big sizes and shaping into patties.

Heat garlic oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, two at a time, in the pan and fry until golden brown, which will take about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes, browning each side. Then bake in the oven for an additional 4 minutes on low-heat. Serve warm with champagne butter sauce.

For the sauce, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat, and then slowly pour in champagne. Stir together and set aside to cool.

Place crab cakes on butter sauce for presentation and sprinkle a dash of raw sugar on top to serve.

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