Crab Cakes With Chipolte Chili Mayonnaise

This posting is an older posting that was deleted.  I still think it is the best crab cake approach.  I posted another crab cake recipe in January 2011.  They are both good.
Take your pick.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fresh hunks of Crab Meat. 
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs. 
• 1 egg (optional)
• 2 cups mayonnaise. 
• 1 Chipolte chile in adobo sauce, finey chopped, plus 1 teas. of the adobo sauce from the can. 
• Zest and juice of 1 Lime. 
• Salt and Pepper to taste.
• 2 TB butter and 1 TB vegetable oil. 

Procedure

• Put crab meat in bowel.  Add Panko bread crumbs until mixtures binds to make firm Crab patties.  You might not need a full cup. It is important that you do not add too much of the Panko crumbs.   Add egg if warranted - see note below.  Stir in 1 cup of mayonnaise.  Store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to firm.
• Combine - 1 cup of mayonnaise, chopped chile, zest and juice of 1 lime.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Put aside.
• Heat butter and vegetable oil over medium-high heat until mixture starts to smoke slightly.  Pan fry until brown in each side.  

Important note:  You can add one egg to the ingredients.  The egg will tend to increase the binding capacity of the mixture.  I would do the basic mixture first and see if it easily forms into patties.  If not, add the egg and try again.  Good Luck.