Crab Cakes Baltimore-Style
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2large eggs, well beaten
- ½cup chopped celery
- 1cup crushed Saltine crackers
- 3tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- ¼teaspoon red hot pepper flakes
- 2teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2tablespoons finely chopped parsley sprigs
- ½cup finely chopped scallions
- ½teaspoon salt
- ¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1pound crab meat, lump preferred, shell and cartilage removed
- ½cup finely ground fresh bread crumbs
- ¼cup vegetable oil
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
142 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 339 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, celery, saltines, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay Seasoning, pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, scallions, salt and pepper, and blend well. Add the crab meat, folding it in lightly without breaking it up.
- Step 2
Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions. Shape them into hamburger-like patties. Dredge them lightly in the bread crumbs.
- Step 3
Heat approximately 2 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saute the crab cakes 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown, using the remaining 2 tablespoons oil if necessary. Drain on paper towels immediately. Serve the crab cakes with this French Creole-inspired remoulade sauce.
Private Notes
Comments
Baltimore Girl comments. For real Baltimore crab cakes: No pepper flakes, parsley, scallions. No breading. Bake crab cakes in oven at 425 degrees F rather than fry--they are less likely to break apart if the oil is not perfect and they will have less fat and more crab flavor.
Remoulade is for my Richmond husband. Real Baltimorons use a tomato/horseradish/lemon/Worchestershire sauce-based cocktail sauce.
Baltimore Girl adds: my Aunt Thelma from Easton/ St Michaels thought the best crab cakes in Baltimore were served at the Peppermill in Timonium. Not a lot of filling. My cousin Gail's recipe: All jumbo lump. 2Tbsp Mayo, 1 Tbsp mustard, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire. Salt. 1/2 tsp baking soda. One egg and a tsp of Old Bay. Scant 1/3 cup Panko. dash tobacco. Bake at 425.
Forget the celery, hot pepper flakes, finely chopped scallions probably the Worcestershire sauce and one of those eggs. Change the mustard to a bit of Colman's dry mustard, maybe some lemon juice and a little onion juice(grate the onion) and you have it. I am from Baltimore, believe me we prefer our crab cakes to taste like crab and not something else. We used to eat them with Saltines and some Frenches mustard, I still do.
Wow!! These are ridiculous. Makes a lot - too many for my husband and I to eat in one sitting. We made a remoulade sauce with mayo, homemade Dijon, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon juice, minced capers, fresh garlic, minced green onion and old bay. Well, I’d like to call it a remoulade, but the food police are patrolling pretty hard in these comments so I’m sure someone will set me straight 😂 We had these with a big fat squeeze of fresh lemon, and basil Palomas… yum. If you’re not from Baltimore, you will probably love these!!
After reading nearly every comment which almost swayed me to leave all sorts of things out because the crab would get lost in the extra, I thought, “2K in comments in the NYT might speak louder than the ones who suggested the omissions”. Most of those comments came from Baltimore. While Marylanders do know their crab cakes, all of their concerns about losing the crab flavor were completely debunked from my kitchen and household. These cakes were excellent! I was going to do them in other ways suggested after giving this recipe a try but I never will. There’s lots of flavor and, frankly, the extra filling does make your crab go longer. The ONLY things I took from the suggestions was to put in the fridge for 20 minutes first and also bake them at 425 until brown. Following the baking, I gave them a quick flash fry in butter to top them off.
Absolute hit! I would make again exactly the same way (with my sourdough variation). I made these with the remoulade sauce recommended by NYT that was excellent (but I’m willing to look at other remoulade recipes just to try). Being from San Francisco, I used Boudin sourdough crackers instead of saltines. It was a great addition but I recommend letting the crackers soak a bit first before folding in the other ingredients. Also, I made the cakes larger (thicker) than the recipe calls for so yield was more like six than twelve. Made for cakes crisp on outside tender on inside.