The Healthy My Ass Cookbook

Maryland Style Crab Cakes

The right blend of flavors to remind me of what I first had in Maryland.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Drain and pick through the Lump Crab Meat for shells and cartilage to discard, set aside.

Measure and set aside in one small container the Seafood Seasoning, Baking Powder, Black Pepper, Salt and Parsley if using dry.

Whisk the Egg, Mayonnaise, Prepared Mustard, Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce and Lemon Juice.  Whisk in the measured spices and the Fresh Parsley if not using dry.  Stir in 1/3 cup of the Bread Crumbs along with the melted Butter and combine.

Fold in the picked through crab meat until uniformly blended, but do not over mix.  If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more mayonnaise.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.

Place the remaining 1/3 cup of bread crumbs in a small bowl.  Shape the crab mixture into 8 patties about 3/4 inch thick and coat each in the bread crumbs then place them on a non stick or waxed paper covered cookie sheet and refrigerate an hour or more.

When ready to prepare the cakes, select either a 12" or larger frying pan that will hold all the cakes without touching, or a smaller pan that will hold half of the cakes comfortably and fry in two batches.  Heat the unsalted Butter combined with the Olive Oil over medium heat until the butter is frothy.

Part of what makes the crab cakes so good is that they are delicate, so handle them with care.  Gently add the cakes to the pan.  Fry until dark golden brown on the underside, about 4 to 5 minutes, gently flip, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue frying until the other side is well browned, another 4 to 5 minutes.  Carefully remove them from the pan.  If frying in batches, remember to return the heat to medium and add more oil/butter if necessary before frying each batch.  Keep those already prepared warm until all are fried.

Notes:

After 8 attempts to make crab cakes worthy of my web site, I finally succeeded.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over the cakes and or optionally Tarter or Remoulade Sauce (pictured).