Authentic Maryland Style Crab Cakes

As a Maryland resident, born and raised, I have to tell you that we take crab cakes very seriously. I watch cooking shows and specials where they serve crab cakes that are full of all kinds of ingredients–celery, peppers, shrimp, lobster. Here, we keep things simple. You should be able to taste lump crab meat with every single bite. You shouldn’t need a bunch of filler (bread, bread crumbs, crackers) to make the patties seem more full.

Two of the items that I can’t do without are Phillips jumbo lump crab meat and Old Bay seasoning. You can try and substitute the two, but I promise you, it doesn’t get any better than this. Order from the websites, if you don’t live locally. : )

My recipe is adapted from various “famous” recipes. The only item that I didn’t use that’s found in most recipes is dried parsley flakes, which don’t add much flavor in my opinion, but they definitely add to the overall look of the crab cake. I didn’t have any in the house at the time, and it didn’t detract from the recipe.

I beat the crackers inside a plastic baggie, and added it to the rest of the ingredients. I added the egg right after, which acts as the binding agent.

Ah, a one pound can of jumbo lump crab. Perfection.  I’d suggest adding bits of crab meat to the mixture at a time, looking for any bits of shell that might be have made it into the container. You’ll probably find a couple, but not many.

I’m one of those people that believes that a cook’s hands are their best tools. So I mix with my hands, making sure every bit of crab is covered.

I formed the crabs into twelve patties, but you could definitely get away with doing four to six larger patties. Hey, whatever floats your boat. I experimented with two batches, and likes the color and crispness of broiling 8 minutes on one side, flipping them over and broiling for five minutes on the other.

We like to eat crab cakes served with saltines and yellow mustard.

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