This is Chef Justin’s Signature Dish that he made on season 10 of Hell’s Kitchen on the FOX Network. It is a crab cake recipe that will delight all of your senses for any occasion of your choosing. You can use this recipe to make entree portion crabcakes or 2 oz. appetizer portions.

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 red bell pepper – diced
1/2 white onion – diced
1 jalapeño pepper – diced
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 lemon (juiced and peel grated)
1 tablespoon hot sauce (brand of your choice)
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of parsley
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shell
3/4 cup finely ground hard pretzels (from 1/2 pound pretzels)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

First  sauté the peppers, onions and scallions in a pan in one tablespoon of vegetable oil until soft.  Remove from pan and refrigerate the veggie mixture until to cool so that you do add hot vegetables to cold crab meat.  In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the egg, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, paprika, vegetable mixture, lemon, and herbs.  Fold in the crabmeat and 1/2 cup of the pretzels. Refrigerate the crab mixture for 1 hour, until the pretzels are moist.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Form the crab mixture into patties. Try using an ice cream scoop or mold to make sure each patty is consistent. Roll the cakes in a little all-purpose flour and the remaining ground pretzel to lock in the flavor and assure great consistency. In an ovenproof nonstick skillet, melt the butter in the remaining vegetable oil. Add the crab cakes and cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about three minutes. Turn the crab cakes and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake the crab cakes for about seven minutes, until they are heated through.

Chef Justin’s Crab Cake Sauce
For a flavorful sauce, I usually combine mayonnaise, mustard, couple dashes of hot sauce and a teaspoon of Old Bay. – Chef Justin