Our Favorite Maryland Crab Cakes

By Ellie

4 Person

75 Minutes

0 Calories

When we’re out at our favorite restaurants, we usually get three options for how the crab cake is cooked: fried, pan-seared and broiled. We hardly ever choose fried, but often go for pan-seared or broiled. We have shared our method for both options below— it’s simple with few ingredients, little filler, and tastes of sweet crab.

Ingredients

FOR SERVING

Old Bay seafood seasoning
Lemon wedges
Cocktail sauce
Tarter sauce, see our homemade tartar sauce
Sliced tomato
Lettuce
6 bread rolls

CRAB CAKES

1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) canola oil, or neutral flavored oil
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 large egg
1/4 cup (55 grams or 2 ounces) mayonnaise
1 tbsp. minced chives or parsley, optional
20 saltine crackers, crushed into crumbs (65 grams or just less than 1 cup of crumbs)
1 pound jumbo lump or backfin lump crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized

Method

01

Drain the crabmeat, if necessary, and pick through it for any rogue shells. Toss the cracker crumbs, herbs, and crabmeat together, using your fingers to gently break apart some of the lumps.
02

Whisk the mayonnaise, egg, mustard and Worcestershire sauce together then stir into the crab mixture. It will look somewhat loose. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
03

Scoop the crab mixture into six 1/2-cup mounds and lightly pack into patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cook the crab cakes — our method for pan-searing and broiling are below.
04

In a 12-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the crab cakes to the pan. Cook until the underside of the cakes are dark golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
05

Carefully flip the cakes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the butter. Continue cooking until the second side is well browned, 4 to 6 minutes.
06

Position an oven rack 6 to 8 inches from the top of the oven. Turn broiler to high. In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the crab cakes to the pan. Cook until the underside of the cakes are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
07

Cut the butter into six pieces then add one to the top of each crab cake. Slide the pan under the broiler and cook until the tops are well browned, 4 to 6 minutes.

Related Tags

Our Favorite Maryland Crab Cakes

4.2

( By Ellie )

01 Information

Grade easy
Serving 4 servings
Prep Time 60 Mins
Cook Time 15 Mins
Total Time 75 Mins

02 Ingredients

FOR SERVING

Old Bay seafood seasoning

Lemon wedges

Cocktail sauce

Tarter sauce, see our homemade tartar sauce

Sliced tomato

Lettuce

6 bread rolls

CRAB CAKES

1 tbsp. butter

1/4 cup (60 ml) canola oil, or neutral flavored oil

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 large egg

1/4 cup (55 grams or 2 ounces) mayonnaise

1 tbsp. minced chives or parsley, optional

20 saltine crackers, crushed into crumbs (65 grams or just less than 1 cup of crumbs)

1 pound jumbo lump or backfin lump crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized

03 Method

Step 1

Drain the crabmeat, if necessary, and pick through it for any rogue shells. Toss the cracker crumbs, herbs, and crabmeat together, using your fingers to gently break apart some of the lumps.

Step 2

Whisk the mayonnaise, egg, mustard and Worcestershire sauce together then stir into the crab mixture. It will look somewhat loose. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Step 3

Scoop the crab mixture into six 1/2-cup mounds and lightly pack into patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cook the crab cakes — our method for pan-searing and broiling are below.

Step 4

In a 12-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the crab cakes to the pan. Cook until the underside of the cakes are dark golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes.

Step 5

Carefully flip the cakes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the butter. Continue cooking until the second side is well browned, 4 to 6 minutes.

Step 6

Position an oven rack 6 to 8 inches from the top of the oven. Turn broiler to high. In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the crab cakes to the pan. Cook until the underside of the cakes are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 7

Cut the butter into six pieces then add one to the top of each crab cake. Slide the pan under the broiler and cook until the tops are well browned, 4 to 6 minutes.

04 Author