ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ZACHERY DYKE
Spearo, fisherman, and passionate home cook. I enjoy harvesting my food from the ocean and sharing it with my friends and family. Follow along as I use species local to Florida to make incredible meals you can make at home.
Channel Clinging Crab Spicy Crab Cakes
Channel Clinging Crabs, also called Caribbean King Crabs, or Spider Crabs, are found throughout South Florida and the Caribbean. While big Channel Clinging Crabs are sometimes hard to come by, they are delicious when you do get one! When I was living in the Florida Keys, I saw them frequently, though most were pretty small. The nice part about these crabs, unlike Stone Crabs, is that you can actually retain the entire crab.
How I Got This Channel Clinging Crab
This particular crab I got when I was spearfishing off of Dania Beach in South Florida. He was actually out in the sand moving between reefs and I was able to easily grab him. I am sometimes hesitant to take these because I don’t see big one too frequently, but this one came from a spot I have seen a lot over the past few years. They do serve a purpose on our reefs, as most creatures do, so I don’t want to over-harvest them.
The Inspiration For This Recipe
When I got home with this crab I immediately started craving some crab cakes. I also wanted something with a little spice so I decided to Google “Spicy Crab Cakes Recipe.” The first one that I came across was by Sarah from Healthyish Foods. It looked like a great recipe so I decided to make a few tweaks to make it my own!
I decided to swap the jalapeño pepper for Serrano and add a little bit of cayenne pepper for an extra kick! I also used the Channel Clinging Crab I harvested instead of using store bought crab. I hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
