Stephen Colbert's Island Crabcakes

Chef notes

Evie: We love crabcakes. But often a recipe will call for too much "stuff" and not enough crab. This one has the correct balance. Just enough "stuff" to bind the crabmeat and allow it to fry up into a tasty cake. We cook them at night for dinner and then sometimes, if there are any left over, eat them for breakfast. Yummy both ways.

Stephen: Like shrimp, crabs are all over the Lowcountry. I don't know a creek that doesn't have a crab pot in it. The pots are marked by buoys, sometimes a brightly colored float, sometimes an empty resealed Clorox bottle. You want to drive around the buoys. That's a hard lesson to learn when the rope gets twisted around your prop. If you just want a few crabs for dinner, tie a chicken neck to a string, drop it off the side of a boat or dock, and after (let's say) 5 minutes, slooooowly draw it back up. As it gets to the surface, you'll see the crab nibbling away with a firm grip, and he won't know the jig is up until your net slides under him.

About this crabcake-for-breakfast situation: nothing better. Especially if the night before was thirsty work. Put the leftover crabcake in a pan, and as it fries, break it up like a hash, then pop a fried egg on that bad boy, and you're starting the day right!

Technique tip: An old-school cast-iron griddle is a perfect way to cook these. All six cakes will most likely fit at once and because there are no sides on a griddle, the cakes will be easier to turn. Jockey the cakes around once or twice as they cook so they brown evenly. Wait for the griddle to heat before adding the butter and oil.