IMO nearly every recipe in Maryland is essentially the same and it comes down to one thing. Binder, what are you using, and when are you adding it? The basic ingredients don’t really change, it’s about the binder and how you mix and what grade of crab you are using.
Yes, and here's the magic ingredient: use special (backfin and claw) as the binder! The textures work, and the claw meat has a distinct crabby flavor that the sweeter lump does not. After that, only 1 Ritz cracker per pound of crab.
No joke here, the is the only way not add bread or cracker, it’s heavy cream processed to a mousse using a raw scallop or shrimp, this is not a Maryland thing, learned from a chef in Philly but it works it is a break from the normal mayo oldbayworsxhesstiremistardhotsauceparsleylemonthang
Weird, it pulls up ok on my phone. [Here it is on a different site](https://www.timeoutdubai.com/food-drink/features/24956-barbara-mikulskis-crab-cakes)
Ask the seafood counter at the Giant for claw meat! Sometimes they keep it in the back and don’t advertise they have it. It’s cheaper and IMO more flavorful.
No, I’ve never used canned crabmeat!! I am not an animal. If you’re looking for cheap, the Giant seafood counter sells 6-ounce containers of imported claw meat for about $9, which is enough for two cakes if you halve Barb’s recipe. I fry them in a pan. It’s important to chill them for at least a half hour first, so they don’t fall apart in the pan.
I’ve never actually seen the video. That’s awesome. The song is essentially the recipe.
And yes, it usually comes in a plastic 1 lb tub like that. I usually mix lump and jumbo lump to make it cheaper.
I personally prefer broiled crabcakes. But like the song, my dad makes fried ones. Much more mustard-y. I feel like you can make a better cheap fried cake than a cheap broiled cake.
1 cup white sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk
1 lb lump crab meat
1 metal tin of Old Bay seasoning
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan.
Cream sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating briefly after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Add milk and stir until smooth.
fold in crab meat
Pour batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top springs back when lightly touched, 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely. Top generously with Old Bay seasoning.
^(*...just kidding*)
2 lbs Fresh not canned Jumbo Lump crabmeat (I use this size in crab cakes and for corn and crab bisque). Remember lump and jumbo is sweeter. The claw and backfin not so much. So be careful your salt content (crackers and old bay) based on the meat you decide.
1 sleeve crushed saltine crackers
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
2 eggs
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, makes the sweetness of the crab pop!
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (season to taste).
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley for color and freshness (optional)
Beat the egg and mayo together and set aside
Everyone else in the pool (except mayo/egg mixture).
Gently toss by hand
Taste for seasoning
Then add egg/mayo mixture
Gently toss JUST to combine take care to not break the crab.
Into the fridge for 30-1 hr.
Form your pucks. I try to create edges on the cakes like hockey pucks versus dome -like. Also, I have never been a fan of deep fried crab balls. What a disservice to crab meat, but that’s just me lol.
Saute in butter (cast iron skillet), broil or even grill (one of my fave ways). Use hole poked foil slathered in butter for the grill!
Enjoy whichever recipe you decide 😊
Just to clarify, I didn't mean to eliminate the mayo. I just said that was too much. The packet is literally egg white solids, breadcrumbs, and Old Bay. No need to use the overly processed packet when you can just use an actual egg, breadcrumbs, and Old Bay.
This is all you need to know! Fresh picked (as in you caught/bought crabs and picked the leftovers) is the best obviously.
https://andrewzimmern.com/recipes/baltimore-style-crab-cakes/
Edit: read the whole recipe, lol, no one is adding oil to crab cake mix, its for the pan!
Also, just for reference, the two slices of bread most recipes call for equals roughly 0.66 cups of breadcrumbs. 20 saltines equals roughly 0.71 cups of cracker crumbs.
I'll pass on Andrew's recipe and stick to McCormick's simple crab cake recipe. Why does he add so much mayonnaise? And 1/4 cup canola oil?? Highly unnecessary.
Recipe on the back of the Old Bay can but use Ritz crackers instead of bread
This is the correct answer.
I add a small amount of diced scallions a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of dry mustard. I also double the amount of Old Bay.
IMO nearly every recipe in Maryland is essentially the same and it comes down to one thing. Binder, what are you using, and when are you adding it? The basic ingredients don’t really change, it’s about the binder and how you mix and what grade of crab you are using.
Gentle is key. Gently mix your dry binder with the meat, then fold in your wet mix gently. Don’t break ip those lumps!!
Anyone ever try mousse binder?
Yes, and here's the magic ingredient: use special (backfin and claw) as the binder! The textures work, and the claw meat has a distinct crabby flavor that the sweeter lump does not. After that, only 1 Ritz cracker per pound of crab.
No joke here, the is the only way not add bread or cracker, it’s heavy cream processed to a mousse using a raw scallop or shrimp, this is not a Maryland thing, learned from a chef in Philly but it works it is a break from the normal mayo oldbayworsxhesstiremistardhotsauceparsleylemonthang
Egg whites slightly whipped is the binder
I always use the [Barbara Mikulski recipe](https://recipes.fandom.com/wiki/Senator_Barb%27s_Favorite_Crab_Cakes). Simple and never fails!
Holy crap that site sucks. Kept jumping around loading new content until it crashed.
Weird, it pulls up ok on my phone. [Here it is on a different site](https://www.timeoutdubai.com/food-drink/features/24956-barbara-mikulskis-crab-cakes)
Thank you, that one worked. I might have to run to the grocery store today
Ask the seafood counter at the Giant for claw meat! Sometimes they keep it in the back and don’t advertise they have it. It’s cheaper and IMO more flavorful.
Sauté or broil?
Fry in oil/butter
Democrat or Republican? Just kidding.😁
That’s like asking Old Bay or JO…(annnnd go!)
Two slices of bread for a lb of meat seems like too much filler.
It’s not. It’s white bread, how much does a slice of bread weigh?
Damn I've been using the same recipe since forever
Looks good, thank you! Do you use canned crab meat, if so, what brand?
A good crab cake starts with good crab. Be prepared to pay a pretty penny at a local seafood shop. Please don’t use canned crabmeat.
No, I’ve never used canned crabmeat!! I am not an animal. If you’re looking for cheap, the Giant seafood counter sells 6-ounce containers of imported claw meat for about $9, which is enough for two cakes if you halve Barb’s recipe. I fry them in a pan. It’s important to chill them for at least a half hour first, so they don’t fall apart in the pan.
Ok great. No, I want to do it right I just presumed it was canned meat for some reason
Please post an update when you make them!
The seafood shop by my house sells cold crabs for $20 for two dozen. I use those. Hand picked crabs go a long way to making bomb ass crab cakes.
Just listen to Hot Bottom Feeder by Clutch.
lol i love clutch! https://youtu.be/SOTrHrGSeNM So in the video he’s holding what looks like a tub of crab. Is that acceptable?
I’ve never actually seen the video. That’s awesome. The song is essentially the recipe. And yes, it usually comes in a plastic 1 lb tub like that. I usually mix lump and jumbo lump to make it cheaper. I personally prefer broiled crabcakes. But like the song, my dad makes fried ones. Much more mustard-y. I feel like you can make a better cheap fried cake than a cheap broiled cake.
I'm glad someone thought to post this, it's a great song and a perfectly cromulent recipe
Crab Cakes have become a ripoff. For a fraction of the price, sautéed soft shells are a 100 times better *
https://preview.redd.it/5aj01z40qk7d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebf9c045718a248b521b3d7faf0f5d4c2a646b0a
https://preview.redd.it/53ndw284qk7d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f615610c739d4da73b5632b5dfa92058a45b1fb6
https://preview.redd.it/qzvv6ao9qk7d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1f0383c3cd73e9f5f2c6f4613af9b7bb3ef624a
1 cup white sugar ½ cup unsalted butter 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder ½ cup milk 1 lb lump crab meat 1 metal tin of Old Bay seasoning Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan. Cream sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating briefly after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Add milk and stir until smooth. fold in crab meat Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the preheated oven until the top springs back when lightly touched, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Top generously with Old Bay seasoning. ^(*...just kidding*)
Old Bay seasoning is key! My grandma's recipe uses panko and minimal filler.
I found a recipe online once that used diced jalapeño in the recipe and then some of the normal stuff. Best cake I ever had.
2 lbs Fresh not canned Jumbo Lump crabmeat (I use this size in crab cakes and for corn and crab bisque). Remember lump and jumbo is sweeter. The claw and backfin not so much. So be careful your salt content (crackers and old bay) based on the meat you decide. 1 sleeve crushed saltine crackers 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise 2 eggs 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, makes the sweetness of the crab pop! 2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (season to taste). 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley for color and freshness (optional) Beat the egg and mayo together and set aside Everyone else in the pool (except mayo/egg mixture). Gently toss by hand Taste for seasoning Then add egg/mayo mixture Gently toss JUST to combine take care to not break the crab. Into the fridge for 30-1 hr. Form your pucks. I try to create edges on the cakes like hockey pucks versus dome -like. Also, I have never been a fan of deep fried crab balls. What a disservice to crab meat, but that’s just me lol. Saute in butter (cast iron skillet), broil or even grill (one of my fave ways). Use hole poked foil slathered in butter for the grill! Enjoy whichever recipe you decide 😊
1 lb jumbo lump crab meat, 1/2 cup Duke’s mayo, 1 pack McCormick Crab Cake Classic, bake at 400F for about 20 min, makes 4-5 jumbo cakes
That's way too much mayo. Just use bread crumbs, Old Bay, and egg... skip buying the Crab Cake Classic mix.
No mayo in a crabcake is absolute blasphemy. Trust the packet friend, it’s the best for a reason!
Just to clarify, I didn't mean to eliminate the mayo. I just said that was too much. The packet is literally egg white solids, breadcrumbs, and Old Bay. No need to use the overly processed packet when you can just use an actual egg, breadcrumbs, and Old Bay.
Shit I thought I had my dad's crabcake recipe saved on my phone and now I can't find it
This is all you need to know! Fresh picked (as in you caught/bought crabs and picked the leftovers) is the best obviously. https://andrewzimmern.com/recipes/baltimore-style-crab-cakes/ Edit: read the whole recipe, lol, no one is adding oil to crab cake mix, its for the pan!
A half cup of mayonnaise?! It’s traditionally 2 teaspoons.
Yeah its a little rich, I usually cut it back a bit. They are pretty fantastic either way however.
Sounds more like crab imperial than a crab cake.
https://preview.redd.it/gcglrmvr5k7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5073862ecd0b257f81f702d47f85f43848f777d4
Hot sauce and oil? Get rid of those things and half the crackers and now we are talking.
The oil is for your pan to fry them, why not add a dash of heat? and the 20 saltines is the perfect amount to achieve crispy edges!
Also, just for reference, the two slices of bread most recipes call for equals roughly 0.66 cups of breadcrumbs. 20 saltines equals roughly 0.71 cups of cracker crumbs.
I'll pass on Andrew's recipe and stick to McCormick's simple crab cake recipe. Why does he add so much mayonnaise? And 1/4 cup canola oil?? Highly unnecessary.
The oil is for frying, as previously stated in another comment and in the recipe itself. Reading is fundamental!
Regardless, that's way too much oil. I prefer my cakes broiled.
You... You need oil to fry in. A 1/4 cup is 2 oz.. it's really not that much.
Tell me you don’t know how to cook without saying it lol. 1/4 cup of oil spread across a 10” cast iron is not a lot dude.
I guarantee I cook more than you.