We learned the secrets to juicy, jumbo lump crab cakes at Loch Bar in Center City.
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This is something you do have to do in stages, but it's easy and some gorgeous crab cakes await you at the end. The trick is to get the jumbo crab and Executive Chef Michael O'Halloran stresses: JUMBO.
"This is as little filler as possible," O'Halloran says. "It's almost all crab."
The dish is one of the stars of the Broad Street eatery's seafood forward menu.
The Dish: The secret to juicy, jumbo lump crab cakes from Loch Bar in Center City
"First, we make the binder," O'Halloran says. "A lot of crab cake recipes use breadcrumbs, but that's just dry. We just use plain white bread, sandwich bread."
Just cut that sandwich bread into cubes and add your eggs and mayonnaise.
"We now toss in some Worcestershire sauce, some chopped parsley, red pepper, a little pinch of white pepper, a little pinch of Old Bay, some salt, and just a tiny, tiny bit of sugar," he says.
You mix that all up and then wrap it up and refrigerate the mixture overnight.
The next day, all you have to add is the crab. And because the crab-to-binder ratio is high, it makes forming them a delicate task.
"The first time I saw it, I was like: that crab cakes is going to fall apart," O'Halloran says. "It's just on the verge of falling apart, which is what makes it really, really good."
When forming the crab cakes, you have to be very gentle with it.
"I tell the cooks that you want to do it like you have baby hands, like you have absolutely no strength in your hands, so that you still have those nice, beautiful big chunks in there," O'Halloran says.
Once the crab cakes are formed, they go back in the fridge for a few hours.
"This way, all of the binding comes together," O'Halloran says. "It still looks a little calamitous, like it might just fall apart, but we don't fry them. We just put them in the oven."
Pop them out of the oven, and garnish as you like!
At Loch Bar, you can order crab cakes as a sandwich, an entrée or a la carte.
Loch Bar Crab Cake Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat, drained
- 3 large eggs, whipped
- 1 and 1/4 cup mayonnaise
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- 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 5 teaspoons diced and roasted red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
6 slices white sandwich bread, crust cut off and cut into small cubes
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, diced red pepper, parsley, pepper, sugar and bread and mx until combined. Rest the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
2. Remove the bread mixture from the refrigerator and fold the crabmeat into the bread mixture very gently, making sure not to break up the large chunks.
3. Rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
4. Scoop about 1 cup of the rested crab cake mixture and very gently pat into a ball shape, using just enough force to hold the cake together.
5. Allow the cakes to rest for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
6. Bake the crab cakes in a 425 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.
Garnish and enjoy!
Loch Bar's popularity with Center City's theater crowds
The restaurant is seated right in the heart of Broadway on Broad Street, in the center of our city's buzzing arts scene.
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"This is the strip where big dramatic restaurants in Philadelphia exist," O'Halloran says. "It's really nice to be a part of that."
It's been swiftly popular with theater crowds.
"People come for brunch and catch a matinee," he says. "Brunch is really busy. A lot of people come in either before or after a show."
Loch Bar opened in October, and it's known for it's raw bar and elixirs.
"We are very seafood forward," O'Halloran says. "We have an extensive raw bar, with oysters clams, mussels, snow crab, king crab, whole lobster and steamed lobster. We have the fried lobster tail, which is tremendously popular."
Yes, there is meat on the menu too and live music every night.
"We have a stage right smack dab in the middle of the dining room," he says.
O'Halloran came to open Loch Bar after working in Bucks County.
"It's great to be back in the city, because the energy is back," he says. "Restaurants are full, and there are a lot of restaurants opening, so it just feels really good to be back in the city where the buzz seems to be back."
As the weather gets warmer, Loch Bar is taking its famous seafood towers, cocktails and city dining vibes outside.
"I think it might be the only restaurant on Broad Street in Center City that has outdoor seating," O'Halloran says. "We are excited about that. We're also going to have a dog menu for the outdoors too, a little menu for pups."