Crab Cakes - Maryland - CC

By mariannefeldman

Maryland Crab Cakes
June/July 2010
Cooks Country
Serves 4

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To get our Maryland Crab Cakes to form without adding too much binder, we dried the crabmeat with paper towels, which allowed us to use fewer crushed crackers. We found that broiling the crab cakes on a greased baking sheet allowed us to brown the cakes without flipping them.

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 14 Saltine crackers
• 1 pound lump crabmeat (see note), picked over for shells
• 3 scallions, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preparation

Step 1

INSTRUCTIONS
1. MAKE CRAB MIXTURE Process crackers in food processor until finely ground. Dry crabmeat well with paper towels. Using rubber spatula, gently -combine crabmeat, ¼ cup cracker crumbs, scallions, melted butter, mayonnaise, egg yolk, mustard, hot sauce, and Old Bay in large bowl.

2. SHAPE CAKES Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape into tight, mounded cakes. Press top of each cake in remaining crumbs. Transfer crumb side down to large plate and refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

3. BROIL CAKES Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Grease 8-inch square area in center of rimmed baking sheet with softened butter. Transfer crab cakes to prepared baking sheet, crumb side down. Broil until crab cakes are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

HOLDING IT ALL TOGETHER
Here's how we got our Maryland Crab Cakes to coalesce without too much binder.


1. We dry the crabmeat with paper towels, which allows us to use fewer crushed crackers for binding.


2. We chill the crab cakes so they can set up and the cracker crumbs can absorb moisture before broiling.


3. We broil the crab cakes on a baking sheet so we don't have to flip them to brown the second side.