One reason we got a Sprinter is that we believe there is no need to rough it just because you are camping. And in fact, although you want to get away from it all, there are parts of civilization that are ok. Crab cakes and a martini are two of them.

I do this because I hate the store bought or restaurant served crab cakes that are made of of bread crumbs and crab crumbs. My crab cakes may not be pretty but you definitely get your crab.

You can do this at home or camping in about an hour.

Get 2 good sized crabs from your crab man and have him clean and break them. Boil a pot of water with some sea salt added. Add the crab pieces to the boiling water and when it comes back to a boil, give it about 10-12 minutes.

While the crab is boiling, using some French or Italian bread, tear bread into small, less than dime size pieces – you need three cups of these.
Put the bread into a mixing bowl along with all the ingredients below.

2-3 chopped scallions, about 1/4 cup
2 tbl good, hot salsa (You should see actual pieces in the salsa. If it is smooth like V8 juice it is not the right kind.)
1 tbl Dejon mustard
2 tbl mayonnaise
1 tbl A1 sauce
1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp Horse radish
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 eggs

Fold the ingredients so all the bread is moist.

By now the crab is done. The crab claws and legs will most likely be red. Run cold water over the crab, still in the original pot, to stop the boil and cool the crab enough to handle. Removing crab meat in the largest pieces possible. You should have close to 1 pound. (You can do this part before leaving for camping if you want as you may be short on water at the campsite. Just refrigerate the crab until you need it.)

Fold the crab into the ingredients until it is mixed in well.

Now you are ready to cook. Use a medium hot skillet with just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add a tbl of butter for flavor. When hot, form the crab mix into hamburger size or smaller patties. The thickness should be about hamburger size also – not too thick. The patties will want to fall apart in your hand due to the large crab pieces so carefully put them into a skillet. Once cooking, they will stay together. Cook about 4 minutes on each side or until they turn golden brown.

You should end up with 8-10 crab cakes.

Now is the time to break out the Martini shaker. The taste of a cold martini will enhance the flavor of the crab cakes. Add 3 shots of gin – most likely Bombay Sapphire (medium martini) to ice and a tiny drop of Vermouth. Shake well. You need to shake a metal shaker 64 times minimum to reach the optimal temperature. Pour into cocktail glasses. Yes, glass, not plastic. You may be camping but you still have a reputation to uphold. If the right temperature, there should be tiny ice crystals in the glass. Add an olive or two.

Enjoy.

“Man-O-Manischewitz. Makes me want to slap my momma down!”