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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Any suggestions as to what can be used for a binder in place of egg? Daughter’s boyfriend is highly allergic to yolks and whites but loves seafood. These sound awesome and would like to try them out.
You could try using a bit more mayonnaise instead.
Instead of egg, you can use egg replacer (found in allergy free section) or ground flax seed mixed with water. There is also egg free mayonnaise you can buy or make. It won’t taste exactly the same but with enough crabmeat, they should still taste great.
Mayo. has egg in it.
I have a special request to make crabcakes (i use a very similar recipe to this and have loved it a thousand times over) but for someone who is completely gluten free. any suggestions for frying tips without the breadcrumbs/other fillers? i really don’t want to use any gluten free bread products because they often don’t taste very good
Hi Anna, I can’t think of anything else you could use. Maybe just broil them instead so they stay together? I might also brush them with melted butter afterwards to give a little richness.
Hi this recipe looks fabulous & I am going to try it however I live in Australia & I dont know what is in the Old Bay seasoning. Can someone please enlighten me as to what is in it, thanks heaps
Hi Gremela, Old Bay is a spice blend. Try this recipe as a substitute: http://www.food.com/recipe/old-bay-seasoning-substitute-345691
I will be making these for New Year’s Eve for our
hors d’oeuvre party. Made a double batch last year and they where gone in 10 minutes.
I would like to make these in bite-size portions to use as a hors d’ouvre. If I can only re-heat them in a toaster oven…how long should I heat them for?
Hi Linda, If you make them small, they won’t take long…hard to say since I don’t know what temperature but I’d guess 10-15 minutes at the equivalent of 350.
Thank you so much! I’m going to make them for Christmas Eve dinner. Cheers!
I have made these exactly like you say and they are delish. 🙂 Do you think I could bake them? I’m having a dinner party and I don’t want to be frying up crabcakes…
Hi Christina, I suppose but I think they’d be better if you fry them a few hours ahead of time, then re-heat them in a 350-degree oven. Hope that helps!
Just found this recipe on Pinterest. My husband can’t wait for me to go to the store tomorrow to buy ingredients to try!
I just put my cakes in the fridge for their 1 hour soak…per comments i didn’t use celery nor panko…hoping they taste as good as they look.. Ate Crab cakes once in MD in 1997 and haven’t since (i’m from WA) so I hope I can recreate!!
Hi Lexi, I hope your crab cakes came out. I suggest using the panko as called for in the recipe. It’s such a small amount that it doesn’t affect the taste, and it really helps bind the crabmeat together.
NO celery. It just will not do. These look wonderful and for a second could almost smell them cooking! Loved it when my Mom made them.
I am allergic to iodine. What can I use in place? I had a chicken cake in Kansas at Hennessays. Any help?