Prep Time:
The first thing to do is to make the crab patties for cooking later, it's best to do this a few hours a head of time. Ingredients needed for the crab cakes are:
1 rib of celery
1/4 Medium Vidalia Onion
1/3 Red Bell Pepper
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Tblspn Reserved Bacon Grease
8 or 9 Saltine Crackers
Approx. 1/4 Cup of Herbs (I used Parsley and Basil)
8 oz Crab Meat
1 Tblspn Lime Juice
1 Tspn of Old Bay Seasoning
A pinch of Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper
1 Egg
1 Tblspn Half & Half
Finely Dice the Celery, Onion, Bell Pepper and Garlic and put in a hot skillet (Bacon Grease should be in the skillet, heated back up to a liquid state if previously refrigerated) for about 3 minutes, just to get the vegetables translucent. Finely chop the herbs and crush the Saltines and place everything in a mixing bowl, save the egg and Half & Half, and mix it up. Beat the Egg and and add the Half & Half, pour into the mixing bowl. Make small patties out of the mixture and place in the refrigerator to set.
For the sauce, we'll make a Chimichurri. We'll need:
1 Bunch of Parsley
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Medium Vidalia Onion
10 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tspn of Salt
1 Tspn of Pepper
1 Tspn of Hot Pepper Flakes
Splash of Cider Vinegar
1 Tblspn of Lime Juice
3/4 Cup of Olive Oil
Put everything beside the Parsley and Olive Oil in a Food Processor and chop fine. Add Parsley and Chop until it is fine. Add Olive Oil Slowly and only process enough to emulsify. The less that you process the chunkier the Chimichurri will be which is best.
Take 2 Tablespoons of Chimichurri to marinate with the Fish for about 3 hours (I bought a pack of 2 Mahi Mahi Fillets from Publix). Also, snap the Asparagus and make into rafts (take 4 or 5 stalks and put 2 toothpicks through them to make a mini raft). Brush on a couple of tablespoons of Chimichurri on the Asparagus (enough to cover them on both sides.
Cooking Time:
In a frying pan put 2 tablespoons of Butter and 2 tablespoons of Oil (I used Peanut Oil). Heat - Add the Crab Cake Patties and cook until Dark Brown, approx. 3 minutes per side depending on heat. When done, put the Crab Cakes on tin foil, as they will go to the grill to stay warm.
Oil Grill Grates - This is Critical when Grilling Fish (I put some vegetable oil on a napkin and rub the grates and then spray with Pam Cooking Spray)
Crank the Grill to High Heat - We want to handle the fish as little as possible (Hopefully, 3 times before taking them off)
Put the Fish on the Grill. At about 3 minutes you should be able to slide a spatula under without much sticking, if so, turn at a 90 degree angle. After another 3 minutes flip the fish (you should see a good sear on the top and if not, it may need to cook a little longer). At this point put the Asparagus rafts on the grill and put the Crab Cakes (on tin foil) and the top warming rack of your grill. Flip the Asparagus every minute or so to avoid burning, with high heat they need about 5 minutes on the grill. You'll be turning the Mahi Mahi at 3 minutes, and then at 12 minutes total, you should be pulling it off. With any Luck, it will look like this:
I made a Large Crab Cake :)
