Easy Maryland Crab Cakes


In my humble opinion, there is nothing better than Dungeness Crab. Those of us living in the Pacific Northwest are blessed to have easy access to fresh Dungeness every winter when crabbing season opens.

With that said, last Christmas we decided to splurge and pick up a five pound can of crab leg meat. We had crab salad, crab omelettes, and of course, crab cakes.


We purchased the crab from Fitts Seafood in Salem, an amazing fresh seafood spot, and we were not disappointed. the crab legs were so fresh and delicious. I cannot even tell you how good they were!


Needless to say, between the 11 of us, we finished off that can in three days. We are a household of seafood lovers, so you can see why it was easy for us to finish off this five pound can in no time. So, if you love crab as much as we do, you are going to love this recipe for Maryland crab cakes.
To begin, you will need the following ingredients listed below. you can find pretty affordable crab meat at costco. they usually have it and though it's not as good as what we had, it will definitely be tasty for your crab cakes.
prep: 1 hour and 30 minutes
cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely diced celery, from one stalk
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 pound lump crab meat
1/4 cup panko
1/3 cup of crushed Ritz crackers
canola oil, for cooking

Instructions:

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.


2. 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 30 minutes. This helps them set.





3. Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat and coat with canola 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 immediately with tartar sauce or a squeeze of lemon.