Maryland Crab Cakes

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A simply delicious authentic crab cake recipe! Thanks to light seasonings and just enough filler to hold things together, the flavor of the sweet crab shines through. This is an easy weeknight meal!

Last summer, I hosted a kids cooking camp that focused on a different region of the country each day. When we focused on the north east, I knew crab cakes had to be on the menu. Thankfully, they are so simple to make that the kids easily mastered the recipe. They loved these crab cakes!

I love crab cakes but often find that when I order them in a restaurant, they are stuffed full of fillers and you can hardly taste the crab. Not so with this recipe! There is just enough filler to hold it together, and just enough seasoning added to enhance the crab meat, and the rest is all crab.

We served these on their own but you could make crab cake sliders, place one on an arugula salad, or even make crab cake eggs Benedict (my favorite!).

Chilling the mixture before shaping is a must - don't miss this step or your cakes will fall apart.

 
Maryland Crab Cakes
1 lb jumbo lump or backfin lump crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized
1 large egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1.5 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1-1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs from soft white sandwich bread (just pulse in food processor)
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt
Lemon wedges for serving
 
Drain the crabmeat, if necessary, and pick through it for shells. Place in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.


In a small bowl, whisk together 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 - it should be somewhat loose. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.

Once well chilled, shape the crab mixture into 8 cakes about 1 inch thick. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the butter and the olive oil over medium heat. When the butter is frothy, add the cakes to the pan. 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.

Source: slightly adapted from Fine Cooking