Need advice from caterers - Crab Cakes

I have a friend that is considering making crab cakes for a party of approx. 40 people. She is not a caterer & hasn't attempted this before. Needless to say, I'm a little concerned that this might be too ambitious.

She's planning to make the crab cakes a little smaller than sandwich size. So I'd guess that one pound of crab meat would make about 6 crab cakes. And I'd think that she'll need to make about 60 total cakes (requiring 10 pounds of crab meat).

Are my calculations in the ball park? Does anyone know about how much this would cost? The crabmeat would be purchased retail unless someone has another suggestion.

Any other helpful thoughts or ideas on how to make crab cakes in a large batch?

Thanks in advance!

Retail lump crabmeat in cans is quite expensive, maybe $14 for a 1 lb can at Doll's. I should know, I made crab soup for a class I taught at Campbell'sa couple months ago. But of course there will be other ingredients in the crab cakes - bread crumbs, etc. Is the party at her house, or is she having to take them somewhere else after cooking them? The whole thing sounds like a logistical nightmare for someone that's not in the biz.

Marsha,

I didn't include all the gory details in my initial post. I'm really, really worried about the logistics. It's much worse than I originally described.

She will be driving to Louisville from Ft. Wayne, Indiana following a soccer game that is scheduled to end at 1:30pm. She plans to have all the ingredients with her in a cooler. The best scenario gets her into Louisville at 5:30pm. The party starts at 8pm.

She will be cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen (another friend's house) where the party will be taking place. So about 60 crab cakes will have to be pan-fried in a galley kitchen (four burner stove) before the party starts.

Another concern is that even if she manages to pull it off, the house is going to smell like fried fish for the party.

.....oh, and her total budget is $150.

I believe her plan is way too ambitious (i.e. just short of crazy), but I wanted to get some input from the pro's.

Yeah...no. I have one of those kitchens. The last thing I want during a party at my apartment is one of my guests setting up shop in there and wrecking the kitchen. Frankly, I can hardly imagine anything worse.

Tell her she can't afford the crabmeat on her budget. Tell her I suggested she drop $40 on "Martha Stewart's Hors D'oeuvres Handbook" - the photos in there will totally inspire her to do something else. It's a great book that she'll always treasure, and she'll never be in need of inspiration for party food again.

Unless she hates the party hostess, she should avoid this crabtastrophe at all costs.

Marsha,

Thanks for the advice. I'll pass it along.

Unless she hates the party hostess.....

You may be onto something here.

Sounds like it would be just as well to buy them at GFS or Sams and bake them in the oven... or she will be frying well into the party itself..... does not sound like any fun to me!

Suzi,

I was thinking the same thing. If she's bound & determined to have the crabcakes, at least get them pre-made. That said, I think the Sams/Costco/GFS cakes would also exceed the budget.

OK. The hostess has pretty much put the smack down on the crab cake idea. She's leaning toward country ham & biscuits.....or pork/beef tenderloin on Camelot buns at this point.

Mainly, something that can be made ahead of time and can be eaten with fingers (or not a whole lot of utensil work). Things on skewers or tooth picks would work.....or in shooter glasses.

I have a couple of crock pots and a fondue pot, but ideally most items would need to be ok at room temp. For example, grilled asparagus with some sort of nice dipping sauce. The food could potentially sit out for 3 hours. So I'd like to avoid killing the guests with food poisoning.

Anyone have any interesting ideas?

You can pre-fry or pre-pan sear the crab cakes and refrigerate, the place them on a sprayed cookie sheet, bake at 350 until done. It maybe sacreligious, but using half lump crabmeat and half surimi(imitation crab meat) might be a more cost effetctive option. Just don't overdo the fillers. Crabcakes are actually quite forgiving as long as you don't burn them or dry them out. Another option isto get a few skillet, crabcake mix and a portion scoop, Get the pan hot, add a little oil and scoop the balls of mix into the skillet, press down with a spatula nd flip over, once browned , put on a cookie cheet and finish in 350 degree oven. You can also turn the oven down to 200 to keep them warm until serving time. Don't forget a good aioli or remoulade to serve with it. Just my 2 cents.

It maybe sacreligious, but using half lump crabmeat and half surimi(imitation crab meat) might be a more cost effetctive option. Just don't overdo the fillers.

It sounds like the crab cakes idea is out the window, but along the lines of what Rick recommended, there are also different types of canned crab meat at different prices (I believe jumbo lump, lump, claw???), with jumbo being the most expensive, on down the line. For some preparations, like bisque with whole crab in it, you're generally stuck going with mostly jumbo lump, as the lesser levels don't stay together, but for crab cakes I'd think you'd be fine going with a mix. I would think a mix of roughly 20% jumbo lump, 40% lump, 20% claw (or whatever the lowest level is), and 20% imitation (which actually has a good amount of flavor) would work very well and be much more cost effective.

Still, cooking 60 crabcakes in a galley kitchen in under 2 hours AT the location of the party sounds frightening, cost notwithstanding.

I should add that the clawmeat is most flavorful, I think, it just doesn't hold up as well.