Homemade Maryland Crab Cakes

Old-Fashioned Maryland Crab Cakes

Ask any Maryland native for a recipe for crab cakes, and you're bound to come up with as many different recipes as there are crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. And no visit to the state would be complete with sampling crabs.

One great place to sample exceptional crab cakes (and steamed crabs, for that matter) is Obrycki's Crab House and Seafood Restaurant, located in Baltimore, Maryland. The restaurant has been serving generations of locals and visitors alike since 1944, and any Maryland native can tell you that a trip to Baltimore wouldn't be complete without enjoying crabs. Obrycki's prides itself in making only the best Maryland crab cakes. But for those who can't journey to Baltimore, Obrycki's can also mail order their crab cakes, so you can enjoy the flavor of the Chesapeake Bay region even if you live in Vancouver, Canada.

Our recipe below for homemade Maryland crab cakes is a compilation of several different recipes for crab cakes--all from Maryland kitchens. A true Maryland crab cake uses as few fillers as possible. Only the freshest, sweetest crabmeat is used in the mix. Different recipes incorporate a range of filler ingredients to bind the crabmeat together. Some cooks prefer to use crushed crackers, while others fold in cracker meal, but the most common filler is moistened bread or bread crumbs. Crab cakes are sometimes broiled, but the preferred method is to sauté them, cooking the crabmeat just long enough so that the cake is thoroughly heated.

RECIPE

Maryland Crab Cakes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 saltine crackers, crushed to fine crumbs
• 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for cartilage
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the crackers, crabmeat, egg, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. The mixture should be wet. Divide the mixture into four equal portions; shape each portion into one crab cake.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Gently slide the crab cakes off a spatula into the hot oil. Cook until the crab cakes are golden brown on one side, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the crab cakes over to the opposite side, and continue cooking for another 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the skillet and allow to drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

SOURCES

Obrycki's Crab House and Seafood Restaurant

1727 East Pratt Street

Baltimore, MD 21231

410-732-6399

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