9:23 a.m., July 13, 2010----Do you have a recipe that could win the coveted title of “Delaware's Best Crab Cakes”?

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Find out by entering your recipe by Friday, Aug. 6, to be considered for one of eight finalist positions in the 21st Coast Day Crab Cake Cook-Off. Finalists will compete for cash prizes, a plaque and an opportunity to return as a judge next year.

The contest will be held at Coast Day, Sunday, Oct. 3, at the University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes.

Sponsored by the Delaware Sea Grant College Program and the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE), Coast Day is an annual educational festival and showcase for Delaware's rich marine resources. The event, which attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year, has won state and national awards for its efforts to promote environmental education and stewardship.

Doris Hicks, seafood technology specialist for Delaware Sea Grant and organizer of the cook-off, said the contest is an opportunity for both professional and amateur cooks to celebrate the blue crab, one of Delmarva's most valuable seafood resources.

“Be as creative as you want,” she said, explaining that previous contestants have used special ingredients ranging from cornmeal to lemon dill sauce. “Dress up a traditional recipe or develop a totally new one. The trick is to come up with a recipe that complements the crabmeat without overpowering it.”

All crab cakes must be made from 100 percent blue-crab meat. Each finalist will receive two pounds of jumbo lump blue-crab meat to use the day of the competition. All other ingredients and cooking utensils are the contestants' responsibility. Judging will be based on originality, predominance of crabmeat, taste and texture.

For a complete set of contest rules and an entry form, download a PDF here, or call Delaware Sea Grant at (302) 645-4346 or send email to [mkscorzi@udel.edu] for a printed version. For more about Coast Day, visit the website.

Award-winning recipes from Coast Day's first 17 years are published in a commemorative Coast Day Crab Cake Cookbook. The spiral-bound booklet costs $6. It will be available at Coast Day, or can be ordered now by visiting the Delaware Sea Grant website or by calling (302) 831-8083.

Article by Elizabeth Boyle
Photo by Evan Krape