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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Just a BIG FYI (For Your Information): NONE of us in Maryland puts tartar sauce on our crab cakes. Tartar sauce is for fish. Pickle relish? No! No! No! Pickle relish belongs in potato salad. You missed a huge step. Refrigeration. If you don’t refrigerate the crab cakes for at least 30 minutes after forming them, they will fall apart while frying or broiling.
Maybe you missed the part where Jen clearly states to refrigerate the crab cakes for at least an hour- that this helps them set.
Sorry, but I was born and raised in southern Maryland and all my family use tartar sauce on their crab cake sandwiches! I have never put it on fish! Jen also lives in Maryland so obviously her family uses tartar sauce as well! This recipe is incredible!
I use dungeness crab, omit the salt and they always turn out wonderful. Family likes the tartar sauce and a splash of lime directly on the cakes.
Where in this recipe does it say the temperature to set oven and for how long.
Hi Laurie, I don’t have that info in the recipe as these are sautéed in a pan. Hope that clarifies!
It is Christmas time again and I have been making these every year for the past 5 years for our Christmas party. Everyone can’t get enough of these! The compliments are genuine and I need to triple the recipe as they can’t have just one crab cake. I like the fact that I can form them a day before the party. Some say the tartar sauce should be bottled and sold. I put a little less mayonnaise, but just my preference. I use good quality frozen King crab legs and they turn out great.
They look delicious ! Can these be made as appetizers?
Definitely!
Awesome recipe…my guy made a “Crabby Patty” that even Mr. Krabs would be proud of 🍔😋! I had mine off bun with fries. Tarter was awesome… we’re definitely adding this into our rotation!
Magnificent!
We had 500g raw sushi tuna (frozen) on hand, so used it instead of crab meat.
This recipe is perfect. Also, used combination of Hellman’s and kewpie mayonnaise.
Found frying 2 at a time in a skillet is optimal, because need to keep temperature low to cook through after refrigerating so long. (the refrigeration is necessary!)
The perfect accompaniment to my taste is capers
I love this recipe! It reminds me of the restaurants.
Excellent!!!
Hi- I want to make these for a larger group but don’t want to spend an hour frying up while guests are here. In the comments I saw people baking them instead of frying, as well as making them ahead and then warming them up. Any chance you could give a few make-ahead suggestions or large-batch instructions? If baking on a sheet, how long and what temp? If making ahead, what’s the best re-heat method (baking? what temp? etc.).
Oh, and I’ve made these for friends and family at least 30+ times since I first found the recipe and every single person who has tried them says they are the best they’ve ever had. Seriously. The best. Thank you, per usual, for your great recipes.
Glad you like them! To make them in the oven, I’d suggest a combination of baking and broiling; bake them in a 350-degree oven on a lightly greased baking sheet for about twenty minutes, or until hot (and it’s not necessary to flip them). Then I’d slide them under the broiler for about a minute to get them golden brown on top. If you make them ahead and reheat them, I’d put them on a baking sheet in 350°F oven for about 7 – 8 min or until heated through. Hope that helps and that everyone enjoys!
Thank you!! I appreciate these make-ahead instructions for an upcoming party.
I made your crab cakes for the 1st time about 2 weeks ago. The cakes were amazing! I cut the recipe in half because I’m cooking for my husband and me. The tartar sauce was super yummy too. I did leave out the pickle relish since I’m not a fan, but everything was so incredibly good I’m planning on making the crab cakes with the tartar sauce this week again. Than you for an easy but really tasty recipe! I’m a fan.
My son made for my birthday. We did not add celery, bay or Worcestershire. They still were EXCELLENT. Also we baked on sheet covered with butter at 425 until set and egg cooked. Did I say EXCELLENT?