Mayo substitute in crabcake mix? What does mayo do?

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  • BootCampC
    BootCampC Posts: 689 Member
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    what's wrong with mayo? its only 2g of saturated fat , that's not bad
  • Teneko
    Teneko Posts: 314 Member
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    Some folks just flat out don't like the taste. Personally I love it. Had a mayo "sandwich" last night with cheese slices instead of bread (Yay keto).

    -T.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    softblondechick wrote: »
    It depends on your diet. I have been using hummus in place of mayo, to increase protien. Or hard boiled eggs, mixed with a bit of olive oil and vinegar, to make a "mayo" consistency".

    I had a delicious tuna salad this past weekend, where hummus replaced the ubiquitous mayo. Great idea.

    I sometimes use Quark instead of mayo. But of course Greek Yogurt is a decent replacement too.
  • Mary407
    Mary407 Posts: 635 Member
    edited February 2015
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    OP - I really admire your plan to reduce condiments. They are certainly a source of unnecessary sugar, salt, preservatives, and general ick.

    I come from a family that spent a lot of time on the Chesapeake Bay. Crabcakes are sacred. We follow a recipe passed on (totally not directly!) on from Barbara Mikulsik, Maryland Senator. It's probaly a MD state mandate that she know her crabcakes!

    A really good crab cake really doesn't have much mayo (or many cracker crumbs) to act as binders. You use the absolute bare minimum, and refrigerate as the previous poster suggested before cooking (pan frying, or you can oven bake on convection to brown, which is what we do) - chilling really does help keep them from falling apart.

    I would not ever sub yogurt - regardless of the type. Mayo is not there for flavor - just for binding - and the yogurt flavor would not sit well with me. And yogurt has a high water content and dry "mouth feel," neither of which you would want in a good crabcake. We only use about 3Tbs of mayo for a pound of crab. You could very easily add one extra egg yolk and 1Tbs of neutral oil to replace this mayo. After all, mayo is just egg yolk, oil, and acid (usually lemon juice or white vinegar). Depending on how much acid is added, mayo is not usually all that tangy, and I just think the yogurt would mess with the balance.

    Bottom line - good crab is expensive. I wouldn't want to screw up 20 bucks worth of crab experimenting with Greek yogurt. If you don't want prepared mayo, just add more of what mayo's made of.

    And never, ever forget the fresh parsley and Old Bay!
  • Mary407
    Mary407 Posts: 635 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Due to the magic of the interweb, I see that Senator Mikulski's recipe is available for all!
    She uses 1Tbs of mayo only (not sure how the version we use ended up with 3 over time) and fresh bread. We use crumbled saltines or panko cause it's easier.

    Given that it's only 1tbs, I'd say you could skip it entirely. Just use an extra large egg. Happy eating!

    http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/about-barbara/crabcake-recipe

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