Classic Maryland Crab Cakes

This crab cake is the real deal?no fussy stuff, no flavor disguises. Just pure, sweet crab meat, and lots of it. You add in just enough egg and fresh bread crumbs to bind the crabmeat together. White sandwich bread yields the absolute best cakes?soft and flaky at the same time. Use just enough Old Bay seasoning to give a hint of its presence or it will overpower the crab.

Category: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

8 reviews 
Ready in 45 minutes
by mraguirre22

Ingredients

1 lb. jumbo lump or backfin lump crabmeat fresh or pasteurized

1 large Egg

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

Dijon mustard

Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and Kosher salt

1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (from soft white sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm)

1 Tbs. fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped

2 Tbs. Unsalted butter

1 Tbs. Olive oil

Lemon wedges for serving


Directions

Drain the crabmeat, if necessary, and pick through it for shells ( jumbo lump will not have shells). Put the crab in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Scrape the mixture over the crab and mix gently until well combined. Gently break up the lumps with your fingers but do not overmix. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the parsley over the mixture, and mix them in thoroughly but gently; try not to turn the mixture into a mash?it should still be somewhat loose. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours. Shape the crab mixture into 8 cakes about 1 inch thick. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. When the butter is frothy, add the cakes to the pan (8 should fit comfortably). Cook until dark golden brown on the underside, about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue cooking until the other side is well browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over the cakes.

Reviews


The main flavor was very good, but too salty. My mistake was following the ingredients: 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and Kosher salt. Looking at the recipe again I should have only added 1/4 tsp. of salt. Next time I will try without the salt.

AMotherAgain

Extremely good. But very very salty. I'm sure I'll have the craps from all the msg these things had.

cbezzie

I made this with Panko because I never buy white bread. I'll make again but adjust with a bit more Old Bay or Worcestershire. I halved the recipe and it may have affected the seasoning. Very good and easy too.

outdoorlover

I was born and raised here in Annapolis, MD and have to say that this is a true Maryland crab cake! I hadn't made them in a long time and couldn't find my receipe. I needed a refresher and this was perfect! Had never tried fresh bread crumbs before or dijon mustard but I think that made these better than the ones I used to make. Thank you for my new favorite crab cake receipe!

Hiltonhead1999

honcho777

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