Am I using the wrong bread crumbs?

You're supposed to use fresh breadcrumbs.

For what it's worth, I had the exact same problem when I tried my hand at Vietnamese-style meatballs this past spring. I used the breadcrumbs out of a canister, and while they held together, when cooked they were more like golf balls than tender meat morsels in texture! My second batch came out a lot better. I sliced a country-style loaf of crusty Italian bread into slices about 1/2 an inch thick, then I left them out on the counter to dry overnight. (If you're in a rush, you could also put them into a 225-degree oven for about 40 minutes--just until they're thoroughly dried out.) Then take the dried bread slices and put them into a large Ziploc bag (in 2 batches if necessary). Use a rolling pin, a meat mallet, or the heel of your shoe if need be, to crush them into fairly fine crumbs. They do not all have to be of a perfectly even size.

When you add them to your recipe, judge how much to add by feel, not by measuring. When your mixture just barely holds together, stop adding the crumbs, shape as gently as you can, and cook as usual. This is just my opinion, but--resist the temptation to add egg! Though it works well as a binder, in my experience it makes for a heavier texture.

P.S: any unused crumbs keep well in a screw-top jar for months.

I wish you luck!

My crabby cakes

1 lb crabmeat

1 egg

1/3 cup hellmann's mayo

tabasco to taste

Panko Japanese bread crumbs--they are wonderful

Mix egg and mayo together. By hand gently break the crabmeat into that mixture. Starting with 1/2 cup--add the bread crumbs until you can hold the crabmeat mixture in the palm or your hand and press it into a cake that holds together. You may need a bit more bread crumbs but only add them a tablespoon at a time.

Make crab patties that are about 1/2 inch thick by 21/2 inches in diameter--put them on a sheet pan and into the fridge until you need to cook them.

To cook:

In a non stick pan, put enough Canola or other vegetable oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil to med. high.

Put the crab cakes in with at least one inch of space between all of them. On a sheet pan, put a couple of cooling racks and preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

Cook the cakes, turning often until they are golden brown on both sides. Remember, the crabmeat has already been cooked while being processed--all you are doing is heating them enough for the binders to cook and firm up the cake. Put cakes on rack in warm oven until all are cooked.

Serve with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, wasabi mayonnaise

or other sauces that you like on seafood.

They make great appetizers if you shape them into half dollar size.

Enjoy!

Get the ones in the Asian food section Panko kind made from rice flour.

I make mine this way:

Heat peanut oil (or vegetable if allergic) Put bread crumbs on a plate set aside in a bowl take three cans crab meat and mix with 1/4 cup mayo 1/3 cup Dijon mustard and salt and pepper mix and form into cakes dip in bread crumbs on each side fry for four Min's on each side.

Does your recipe call for fresh bread crumbs? If it calls for fresh, you use half that amount of dried. So if you need a cup of fresh bread crumbs, substitute a half cup of the store bought ones. Too much bread crumbs will soak up all the liquid and make your crabcakes dry. Good luck!

All bread crumbs will soak up some of the moisture so try using less bread crumbs next time.

The type of bread crumb should not matter, you say you have a recipe? Are you following the cooking directions, sounds like overcooked?

Try a Japanese version of breadcrumbs called Pan-ko. Pam-ko can be found @ a regular groceries store now; if not, you need to go to the Asian food market . Good luck with your next crab cakes.

No. Nothing wrong. It's crunchy & it's almost just like corn flakes. People use more than 4 spoonfuls for cookings - frying & etc. Unless if the breadcrumbs has fungus/gone stale thn. of course it's not wise to do so.

no you have the right crumbs, you just cooked the crab cakes to long. I ve done it too - Just brown slightly