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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Let me start this review with cooking is my passion. Other than my children and traveling nothing makes me happier than to cook a great meal for family and friends. I’m known for my cooking and usually don’t fail at it…except… I have never had good luck with crab cakes. They either fall apart, are too salty, fishy or too much filling. I just never could get it right and it would upset me because they are not inexpensive to make. Well thanks to this recipe I now have had success. I made these for company accompanied with shrimp scampi, medallions of beef tenderloin with a cab reduction, scorched green beans and a caprese salad. My company was thrilled and I was extremely pleased with how it all came out. I didn’t change a thing. I made the cakes early in the day and cooking was a breeze. I used Chicken of the Sea lump crab meat. I have to say I was a bit nervous about using canned crabmeat but at $18 a 1lb can the fish market told me it would be fine so I chanced it. Glad I did. Six meaty, flavorful, solid cakes. Thank you so much for this great and very easy recipe. It will now be passed down through the generations in my family.
A friend came by my apartment with 2 zip lock baggies full of Alaskan King crab. Here brother, this is for you. There were crab legs the size of a hammer handle in there, full of crab meat! I am really not a big crab eater and was wondering what to do with it. Jenn’s crab cakes looked like a great solution, and it was! Never made these before so I followed the recipe very closely, even chilled them in the fridge for an hour before frying. I haven’t eaten much crab in my life, but this is the best way I have ever eaten it. I tried the tartar sauce but much prefered them with just fresh lemon juice squeeze on top. Really good!
Delicious! I have never eaten crab cakes in Maryland, so I have no opinion about “authentic”. All I know is that these are wonderful. I also made the green beans with shallots (divine) and the cornbread muffins (outstanding). Another wonderful meal from the best food blog ever.
Hi Jenn, Can’t wait to try these – am sure they are delicious like all your other recipes! One question – what brand of relish for the tartar sauce do you suggest? I find it so helpful when you add these suggestions as it really makes a huge difference. Am sure they are not all the same. Thanks for the great eats!!
Hi Janet, when it comes to relish, are they are essentially the same so you really can’t go wrong. I think I’ve just used the store-brand relish for the tartar sauce. Hope that helps!
i was craving Devon’s crab cakes and this recipe was very awesome..
These were prenominal! First recipe ever that kept the cakes together – despite not having time to chill them. Thank you so much!!
Hi
Can I use the less expensive backfin crabmeat for this recipe.
Jackie, you can but they definitely won’t be as good! (I know the lump crabmeat is definitely a splurge.)
Best I have ever had. Five stars without a doubt, I am always at Jersey shore and Maryland and love crab cakes, this receipe outshines them all. Thanks so much and very easy to
Make
How significant is the celery in this recipe? I just left the grocery store and forgot the celery! I prefer not to go back, if I don’t have to. 😉
Hi Christine, It just adds a little crunch — definitely not worth going back to the store 🙂
Can these be frozen prior or after cooking?
Hi Joann, Generally I don’t love the way crab freezes, but several readers have commented they have frozen them with success, so you could certainly give it a try! (Some readers have frozen them before cooking and some after.)