There are few things more delightful than truly well made crab cakes.
When done right they are thick, luscious and gently flavored patties with a whole lot of crab and not much else.
Done wrong, they are as Mr. Hubby describes, "bread stuffing with bits of crab snuck in".
For those off us who live near the Chesapeake Bay, we all have our favorite crab cake joint in our favorite town.
Ours happens to be the Dock Street Bar & Grill in Annapolis, Maryland. What a gorgeous Navy town it is with boutique stores, a beautiful historic homes and a wonderful bay with beautiful sail boats.
And the crab cakes are to die for.
I called up the restaurant and requested their recipe before I wrote this post. I received a trite "absolutely not"response. Well then.
So this right here, are an attempt to recreate those amazing crab cakes.
And if I may say so myself, well done!
Good to know: The number one complaint with lump crab cakes is that people find it very hard to fry them without them breaking apart in the pan.
The challenge with lump crab meat is that there is nothing to hold the thick long flakes meat together unlike back fin. And since we don't want to add any extra breading to the cakes, my solution which I think work very well, is to add some all purpose flour just before pan frying the crab cakes.
The reason for this is that during the marination period the mixture will release its juices. Adding the all purpose flour just before forming the crab cakes, helps with the excess moisture and binds the crab cakes for easy frying without affecting the flavor. Gather the ingredients,
1 lb container lump crab meat, 3 tbs mayonnaise (like Hellman's olive oil Mayo), 1/2 cup Ritz crackers or similar, 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp cayenne powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp salt,2-1/2 tbs all-purpose flour (to be used after marination) & unsalted butter for pan frying crab cakes.
Crab meat: Drain in a sieve to get rid of excess liquid. Pick free of shells.
Egg: Crack into a bowl, discarding the shell.
In a food processor, add the parsley leaves. Process for a few minutes to chop.
To the parsley add the crackers and process to crumbs.
Empty the parsley-crumb mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, mayo, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Combine with a whisk.
Add the crab meat. Very gently with a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients until well combined but do not over work.
Taste and adjust seasonings. (Since the crab is pre-steamed you can taste it)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours for the flavors to meld.
Remove form the refrigerator just before serving. Add the all-purpose flour and fold ingredients gently.
Form into 3/4-1" thick patties, 2" inches in diameter. Gently press while forming the patties to 'glue' the ingredients together.
Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tbs butter and spread around the pan.
Once the butter stops foaming, gently place the crab cakes on the pan a few inches apart.
Add a pat more of butter to the pan. And fry the crab cakes in two batches if necessary but do not over crowd the pan.
Pan fry for 2-3 minutes until you can see browning at the edges of the crab cakes. With a thin metal spatula and a fork handy, flip over the crab cakes and repeat on the other side.
Serve immediately.
Recipe for
Maryland Lump Crab Cakes
Preparation time - 15 mins
Marination time: 1-2 hours
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Makes 6 qty - 2" crab cakes
Shopping list
1 lb container lump crab meat
3 tbs mayonnaise (like Hellman's olive oil Mayo)
1/2 cup Ritz crackers or similar
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 tbs all-purpose flour (to be used after marination)
unsalted butter for pan frying crab cakes
Preparation:
Crab meat: Drain in a sieve to get rid of excess liquid. Pick free of shells.
Egg: Crack into a bowl, discarding the shell.
Method:
In a food processor, add the parsley leaves. Process for a few minutes to chop.
To the parsley add the crackers and process to crumbs.
Empty the parsley-crumb mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, mayo, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Combine with a whisk.
Add the crab meat. Very gently with a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients until well combined but do not over work.
Taste and adjust seasonings. (Since the crab is pre-steamed you can taste it)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours for the flavors to meld.
Remove form the refrigerator just before serving. Add the all-purpose flour and fold ingredients gently.
Form into 3/4-1" thick patties, 2" inches in diameter. Gently press while forming the patties to 'glue' the ingredients together.
Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tbs butter and spread around the pan.
Once the butter stops foaming, gently place the crab cakes on the pan a few inches apart. Do this in two batches if necessary but do not over crowd the pan.
Pan fry for 2-3 minutes until you can see browning at the edges of the crab cakes. With a thin metal spatula and a fork handy, flip over the crab cakes and repeat on the other side.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
