Crabmeat or Salmon Patties

Ingredients

• 20 saltine crackers, crumbled, enough to make 1 cup, whole wheat work great

• 2 (7 1/2 ounce) cans each crabmeat or each red salmon, drained well
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or to taste)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter (or more, if you like things rich)
• chopped parsley (to garnish)
• 4 lemon wedges (to garnish)

Directions

1. 1

   Finely crumble crackers into a bowl; you should have 1 cup of coarse meal. Flake crab meat or salmon into bowl with crumbs, breaking up any skin and bones if using the salmon (or remove them if you prefer). Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, parsley, mustard, and mayonnaise. Mix until blended. Add egg and blend well.

2. 2

   Shape mixture into 8 patties. Lay them on waxed paper or parchment near the frying pan. In a frying pan (I prefer cast iron), melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Cook 4 patties until browned, about 3 minutes. Add another 1/2 tablespoon of butter, turn and brown the other side. Repeat with the remaining butter and patties. You can keep the first batch warm in the oven.

3. 3

   To plate, sprinkle patties with chopped parsley; serve with lemon wedges.