Maryland Crab Cakes with Quick Tartar Sauce
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A Maryland staple, these crab cakes are made from fresh lump crab meat and just enough filler to bind the crabmeat together.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
When you live in Maryland, eating Chesapeake blue crabs and crab cakes is practically a religion—and, in my family, we are all loyal devotees. Every summer, we hit all of our favorite crab shacks, from local joints all the way to the Eastern shore, where you can look out over the bay and put your feet in the sand.
I’d never attempt making steamed blue crabs at home. Live crabs, giant steamers—yikes! But I do often make crab cakes, which are just as delicious and easier to prepare (not to mention eat). The key is using fresh lump crabmeat and just enough filler to bind the crabmeat together. I love them with tartar sauce, but you could also serve them with lemon wedges or cocktail sauce. Don’t forget the peel-and-eat shrimp, hush puppies, and cornbread.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Maryland Crab Cakes
It’s very important to use fresh, good-quality lump crab meat. Look for fresh-off-the-boat crab meat, which is sold in a clear plastic container, usually resting on ice in the seafood department. It’s expensive, but one pound is enough to make six generous crab cakes (or 12 mini ones).
If fresh lump crab meat is not available, the second-best option is refrigerated crab meat, such as Phillip’s, which is readily available year-round. Avoid shelf-stable canned crab meat, which contains additives that affect the taste and texture of the meat. (For a less expensive alternative to crab cakes, or when fresh crab meat is not in season, try fresh salmon cakes.)
Note that celery is not traditional in Maryland crab cakes, but I love the little crunch it adds; feel free to leave it out if you’re a purist.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Crab Cakes
To begin, combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a bowl.
Mix well to combine.
Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko.
Gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat.
Shape into 6 large crab cakes (about ½ cup each) and place on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This is really important to help the crab cakes set.
Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Flip and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, or until golden. Be careful as the oil may splatter.
Make the Tartar Sauce
Combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, red onion, lemon, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Whisk well, then cover and chill until ready to serve.
Video Tutorital
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Maryland Crab Cakes with Quick Tartar Sauce
A Maryland staple, these crab cakes are made from fresh lump crab meat and just enough filler to bind the crabmeat together.
Ingredients
For the Crab Cakes
- 2 large eggs
- 2½ tablespoons mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup finely diced celery, from one stalk
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pound lump crab meat (see note below)
- ½ cup panko
- Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking
For the Quick Tartar Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 1½ tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon minced red onion
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Crab Cakes
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat. Shape into 6 cakes (each about ½ cup) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps them set.
- Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve the crab cakes warm with the tartar sauce.
For the Quick Tartar Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, onion, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The crab cakes can be formed, covered, and refrigerated a day ahead of time before cooking. The tartar sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.
- Note: If you can only find jumbo lump crab meat, you may need to break the pieces up a bit. If the clumps are too large, the crab cakes won't hold together well.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the tartar sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 crab cakes
- Calories: 299
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Sodium: 1141 mg
- Cholesterol: 275 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Thank you. I did put some in the freezer, so I guess I’ll just see what happens. lol I followed the recipe pretty closely except I used fresh claw meat – which is what I had on hand. They turned out excellent. Thanks again.
I added an egg to the recipe to help to hold the cakes together even if using jumbo lump. I didn’t add the celery. These were very very good!!!
these . were . EVERYTHING .
I had never made a crab cake before in my life but have eaten plenty of them, lol. These came out perfect, so delicious. My Husband was raving about them. I was concerned because as I made them into cakes they felt really wet, but I put them in fridge for an hour like recipe said, and they cooked perfectly. They all stayed together and looked great.
Hi Jenn, We love our seafood in Australia so wanted to try your receipe for a Birthday dinner last night. Glad I did they turned out beautifully and were a great hit!
I didn’t have enough fresh crab meat (blue swimmers) for the full receipe so I added some fresh balmain bug meat (similar to lobster) which worked. Served with Coleslaw, corn-on-the cob and sauteed potato slices.
Thank you, Gayle
Hi Gayle were you able to get old bay seasoning in australia
Hi Jenn – This recipe looks delish! I am going to make them into mini crab cakes for a party tomorrow. Would you be to tell me what size they should be and what temperature to bake them on and for how long? I apologize for all the questions, but I definitely want to get them right!
Many thanks, Teisha
Hi Teisha, I would make them bite-sized (about 1-1/2 in diameter); you may need to shred the crabmeat a bit so that they hold together since they are small. Bake them at 350 until just golden — can’t say for sure how long since I usually fry them but I’m guessing 15-20 minutes. When you’re making the mixture, you might want to test bake one crab cake to make sure they hold up in the oven. If they are too dry, you can try adding another egg like some others have done.
Loved the way these tasted, but had a lot of trouble making them stick into cakes. Added another egg, boom, problem solved.
Also had a nice crab cake stir fry from the first unlucky batch! haha
Hi,
Do you think if I refrigerated these for more than an hour they would be ok? I’m worried about them drying out? I want to prep these before I go to work in the morning (9am) and cook them once I get home (5pm).
Thank you!
Yes, absolutely. Just cover them with plastic wrap and they’ll be just fine.
Thank you Jenn! Cant wait to let you know how they turn out! 🙂 Im cooking them for hubby on Vday.
Hi Jenn,
Just wanted to let you know that these crab cakes turned out perfectly! I made them on Valentines day Eve…Left them in the fridge all night/day and prepared them in the skillet for dinner on Vday. I left out the celery like other reviewers. The Husband absolutely loved them and we both agreed they tasted like the real deal! We lived in DC for 6 years and these crab cakes definitely had that authentic Maryland taste to them.
Thanks so much for a staple recipe!!
G’day from West Australia,
We went crabbing up the estuary and caught around a dozen blue swimmer crabs. My Aussie In-Laws always just boil the crabs and make crab sandwiches with salad and a seafood sauce (ketchup mixed with mayo). Although very tasty with fresh crabs I wanted to try something a bit more adventurous! I found this recipe and used the remaining 6 crabs to make your Maryland crab cakes. The Old Bay seasoning is hard to find Down Under, so I substituted it with 1/3 tsp of paprika, cayenne pepper, celery salt and large pinch of ground cardamom and black pepper. I also used 60g of gluten-free bread crumbs instead of panko (my wife is coeliac). The cakes bound together nicely before going into the fridge for an hour.
I fried them up 4 mins each side and they looked (and tasted) awesome. Absolutely delicious crab cakes. Big hit with the family although I might have put a bit too much cayenne pepper in! Perfect for my wife and I, but the ‘olds’ found them a bit too spicy!
Cheers,
Frank 🙂
I thought these crabcakes were simple and easy and came out tasting Great……