Emily Meggett’s Crab Cakes
Mace, nutmeg’s peppery sister, is what makes the difference in these crab cakes. The recipe, adapted from “Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes From the Matriarch of Edisto Island,” comes from Emily Meggett, one of the most well-respected cooks in the Gullah Geechee community, whose food traditions are built largely on the crabs, shrimp and fish they pull from the water near their homes along the southeastern shoreline. She has made thousands of these using freshly cooked blue crabs, but meat that has already been picked and processed works as well. Be sparing with the bread crumbs, which should just hold the mixture together, then add more if the cakes are falling apart. Make sure the pan is very hot, then reduce the heat the minute they hit the oil. Keep a close eye while they brown. These are lovely bites to start a meal, or can star as supper, alongside rice and fresh vegetables. Ms. Meggett serves them with what she calls pink sauce, which is similar to this sauce, with the additi
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