Baltimore Style Crab Cakes
I have been a big fan of crab cakes what seems like forever. However, I get annoyed in some restaurants when I get crab cakes that are barely crab and mostly filler. They are mushy and don’t even always taste like crab meat. Therefore I was excited when years ago I saw this original recipe in Food & Wine Magazine for Baltimore style crab cakes that I have been using and modifying it to have even less filler than the original recipe. These have now become my favorites. Needless to say I rarely order crab cakes in restaurants anymore, unless I am sure they will be good.
To make these I use good quality jumbo lump crab meat but you could also make them with regular crab meat if jumbo lump is not available. They take a bit of time as they need to sit in a fridge for about an hour, so not necessarily the quickest dinner option out there.
The original recipe called for 20 saltine crackers (crushed), but I’ve been substituting that with about a 1/2 cup of good quality breadcrumbs and some salt. Basically just enough breadcrumbs to lightly toss the crabmeat. The original recipe also calls for 1/2 cup of mayo, but I’ve reduced that to 1/3 cup for the same reasons. Feel free to use the original ingredients and measurements.
To actually form the crab cakes you can just scoop them to mounds and form into patties. I have learned that to get even sized crab cakes the metal 1/2 cup measuring cup works great, just pack the mixture in the cup and turn it over and you have perfect patties. I also finish them off in the oven to make sure they are evenly cooked and keep them warm.
This recipe makes 8 regular size crab cakes, but I’ve also made some mini ones for a party and they were a hit!
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt to taste
1/4 cup canola oil
lemon wedges for serving
STEPS:
In a small bowl, combine the mayo, with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and whisk together until smooth
In a medium bowl, toss the crab meat with the breadcrumbs and salt. Gently fold in the mayo mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Heat your oven to 150 F. Scoop the crab mixture into 1/2 cup measuring cup to form the patties. In a frying pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the crab cakes (work in batches to not crowd the pan) and cook over medium heat until golden on both sides. When you are finished with the first batch, transfer them to a cookie sheet and put them into the oven to finish and keep them warm. When you are finished cooking the last batch transfer them to the oven too and let everything cook an additional 5 min.
Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!