The Ultimate Crab Cake Recipe

Wherever you go along the eastern coast there is always one or two restaurants that claim to make the ULTIMATE CRAB CAKE.
They might be good but nothing has yet to beat my recipe that is easy to make at home. Full of lump crab meat, moist on the inside, crispy on the out with a rich flavor. The finale is the Spicy Tarter Sauce that goes on top!

THE ULTIMATE CRAB CAKE is the first food my daughter Lindsey ate as a toddler. Lindsey spit out her baby food refusing everything except her bottle. The pediatrician told me to take away her bottle and let her sit her in her high chair at dinner to eat or go hungry. As usual, she refused the baby food then waved her hand at our dinner. You guessed it! We were dining on crab cakes. This recipe is adapted from one of the T&C Maryland style crab cake recipes.

As always, when cooking it is important to use the freshest ingredients. Investing in jumbo lump crab meat is important to give THE ULTIMATE CRAB CAKE the flavor and texture it needs to be so good. Handle the ingredients with care to keep the crab lumps whole and prevent them from breaking up.

1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
2 lg eggs beaten
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
dash cayenne pepper
fresh ground pepper to taste
3 Tbs. minced scallions
1/4 cup minced onions
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/3 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
Few dashes pepper vinegar
1/2 to 1 cup bread crumbs

Whisk the eggs in a lg bowl with the cream, mustard, Worcestershire, pepper vinegar, Old Bay seasoning, cayenne and pepper to taste until mixture is well blended. Add the scallions, onions, parsley and mayonnaise. Gently fold in the crab meat and breadcrumbs taking care not to break up the jumbo lumps. Using your hands, divide the crab meat into 8 shaping them gently into rounds. Chill covered in plastic wrap for 1 hour. Heat a few Tbsp butter and oil in heavy skillet saute 3-4 minutes each side till golden brown. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Serve with Spicy tarter sauce.

2 Tbsp pepper vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp sea salt
fresh ground pepper
Tabasco to taste
1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 Tbsp. chopped dill relish
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Lemon juice to taste

Mix ingredients together, chill 1 hour, sauce will be thin.

Enjoy the recipe, it's great served on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of spicy tarter sauce. Great on toasted bun as a sandwich with lettuce and tomato. For a southern twist, garnish with a fried green tomato.
I find it is easier for me to put my ingredients that need to be chopped in a mini food processor, Chef's Corner is a great place to order one of these handy gadgets that make cooking easy.

This is my favorite thing to do with the left over Ultimate Crab Cakes, if there are any. Sometimes I even make a double batch so we can make this "out of this world" sandwhich the next day. Having a bowl of homemade soup and a fabulous sandwhich is one of the great simple food pleasures to be enjoyed. Tomato soup in particular is great paired with the Crab Cake sandwhich.

I saute the Crab Cakes in a pan as above till brown & crispy on the outside. I do not cook with microwaves at all, but find they are great for warming up food quickly. This is one time that I like to heat my hamburger bun for about 15-20 seconds in a microwave rather than a conventional oven.

When the Crab Cakes are almost done, I heat my roll, then I top my bun with fresh bib lettuce or some other soft leaf lettuce, layer with Crab Cake, put a dollop or two of the spicy tarter sauce on top and you have a delicous sandwhich for lunch or a late night snack.

Use The Ultimate Crab Cake Recipe above, omitting the Old Bay Seasoning. You will find them easier to form if you break up the jumbo lumps a little for this version. Gather a large tablespoon of mixture then form into small patties. Let chill 1 hour, roll in one beaten egg with milk, lightly roll in Panko. Cook 2 minutes each side in butter and oil to cover pan over medium to medium high heat. Drain on a platter covered with paper towel in warm oven. Serve with Citrus Wasabi Mayonnaise.

1 cup homemade or good quality mayonnaise
1 1/2- tbsp. Wasabi powder or more to taste
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 tsp. fresh grated orange rind

Mix ingredients together, chill then serve on side or put a dollop of top of crab cake for a great presentation.

INGREDIENTS

1 Lb. lump crabmeat
1 Lg. egg
3 Tbsp Hellman's Mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
½ cup- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
A few dashes of hot pepper sauce
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together all ingredients except crab meat and bread crumbs.
Gently fold in crab meat, keeping the lumps whole. Then add bread crumbs, form into
6-8 mounds depending on the size you want. Sauté the crab cakes in 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp oil until brown on both sides, being careful when turning over for about 4 minutes each side.
Serve with tarter sauce or the Spicy Tarter Sauce Recipe that's above.

During the summer, when I make these a lot, I like to serve them on a bed of lettuce, as it makes a great salad dinner.

For those of you that don't live near the water, or just don't want to cook, Legal Sea Food is a great place to have your fresh seafood delivered to your home. They have been in business for more than 50 years and are one of the premiere Sea Food Stores in Boston where they are located. Besides the crab cakes featured here, they carry salmon, lobster, shrimp, clams, chowder in addition to side dishes and desserts.
Legal Sea Foods offers Gift Cards which makes the perfect gift. They also have a corporate department to handle your corporate needs whether for catering or Corporate Gift Cards.