The Crab Cake Guy

Maryland’s Best Crab Cake Recipe

This recipe comes to us from Cynthia M. of Maryland. In her email Cynthia mentioned that she learned this “Maryland’s Best Crab Cake Recipe” from her grandmother and has been serving these at family dinners since. Give it a try and let me know if you think this is worthy of the namesake Maryland’s Best Crab Cake Recipe. Thanks

Maryland’s Best Crab Cake Recipe

• 1 pound of picked Maryland blue crab meat.
• 1 large egg lightly  beaten
• crushed 1/3 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon  Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 cayenne pepper (use slightly less if you dont enjoy the heat)
• 1/2 cup Saltines
• A touch of onion powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions to Prepare Maryland’s Best Crab Cakes

1. In a small  bowl, combine the Maryland Crab,  Saltine crackers, lightly beaten egg,  mayonnaise and finely chopped parsley. Stir into the batter is moist but make sure not to over mix.
2. Add a touch of salt and pepper.
3. Form into 6 Maryland Crab Cakes. The crab cakes can be  1/2 to 3/4 inches thick.
4. Place the formed crab cakes into the  refrigerator for two hours giving them time to  set up and combining all the flavors.
5. Sprinkle lightly with Old Bay, cayenne pepper or and onion powder.
6. In a skillet, fry crab cakes in butter.
7. Turning each crab cake just once until both sides are  browned.
8. To finish serve with lemon wedges and lightly dust the cakes with a bit of Old Bay seasoning.
9. Enjoy this  Maryland’s Best Crab Cake Recipe

Thanks again Cynthia for this great crab cake recipe. If you have a recipe that you want to share please email me. Thanks

-The Crab Cake Guy

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance

Crab Cake Recipes

Crab Cake Sauces

Ocean Friendly Cuisine: Sustainable Seafood Recipes From The World’s Finest Chefs by James O. Fraioli and Cousteau

Mystic Seafood: Great Recipes, History, and Seafaring Lore from Mystic Seaport by Jean Kerr and Spencer Smith

The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso

Thanksgiving Crab Cake Recipe

Here is a great recipe that incorporates crab cakes in your Thanksgiving Dinner. I recently served these Thanksgiving Crab Cakes, featuring cranberry and sage at a party and they were a hit. Please test out this crab cake recipe and let me know if the cranberry compliments the delicate crab cake.

Thanksgiving Crab Cakes- Sage and Cranberry Mini Crab Cakes

This crab cake recipe is serves 4 full size Thanksgiving Crab Cakes or 12 Mini Cakes.

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sage
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons room temperature butter
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 pound lump crabmeat
• 1 cup crumbled corn bread
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Mix mayonnaise, cranberries, sage, orange peel, pepper and salt in small bowl. Set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in small skillet on medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly.
2. Gently mix crabmeat and corn bread in large bowl. Add egg, cranberry and celery mixtures; toss to coat well. Shape into 24 small crab cakes. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add crab cakes several at a time; cook about 6 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Keep warm while frying remaining crab cakes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter as needed.

This recipe was originally by developed by McCormick & Co.
Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
The Crab Cake Guy’s Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso
Crab Cake Guy’s recommended reading

The Best Places to Order Delivery Crab Cakes

Its been a while since I have updated the Crab Cake Guy website, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been enjoying another summer of crab cakes and steamed blue crabs. For the past few months I’ve been busy taste testing different crab cakes available for delivery.

My goal, ultimate goal was to find the Best Crab Cake Delivery Restaurants and Companies around.

First off, finding a great delivered crab cake was no easy task. If you do a quick web search you will find a ton of crab cake delivery options from different restaurants, companies, mail order services, and websites. Narrowing this down wasn’t easy and I undoubtedly overlooked some great delivery crab cakes (if I missed some please let me know in the comments section below).

To make it manageable, I narrowed down my test to 10 options. They were found by scouring message boards, reading online reviews, a Google search and past Crab Cake Guy website comments and reviews.

Below is a list of the 10 Crab Cake Delivery Companies I tested.

1. Crab Cake Express
2. Faidley Crab Cakes
3. Crab Place
4. Phillips
5. Authentic Maryland Crab Cakes
6. Timbuktu Crab Cakes
7. The Narrows Restaurant Crab Cakes
8. The Crab Cake Lady
9. Kocos Pub
10. Cape May Crab Cakes

Overall the experience of buying crab cakes online and order crab cakes over the phone was very pleasant. The delivery times on the crab cakes ranged from overnight to 2^nd day mail. For the most part each delivery crab cake was well prepared, packaged, and the re-heating process didn’t take away from the taste. Ultimately, I still feel the best way to get a great crab cake is to prepare one yourself visit  Great Crab Cake Recipes or go directly to a restaurant that serves crab cakes.

So, without further ado the Top 3 Best Delivery Crab Cakes

Honorable Mention: Kocos Pub

3. Phillips- Great taste, good size, affordable price and the delivery options help Phillips really stand out.  All orders are shipped to arrive within 3-7 business days. They also have 2-Day Delivery and Rush (Overnight) Delivery.

2. Timbuktu Crab Cakes-  If you have ever visited Timbuktu in Hanover you know how good these cakes are. I ordered on a Saturday and the following Tuesday I was enjoying the cakes. Great job!

1. And the Winner of the Best Delivery Crab Cake- The Narrows Restaurant. Fast and timely delivery, the final product was amazing. Generous amounts of lump crab, great tasting, at an affordable price. Calling these jumbo lump is an understatement… they were huge, and tasty. If you are looking for a real “crab cake” experience in the comfort of your home, then The Narrows Restaurant is the way to go.

Overall, The Best Delivery Crab Cake taste test was a very fun and enjoyable experiment. If there are other companies or restaurants that you think I should try, please leave a comment below. Congrats to all the participants and to our winners.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
Crab Cake Recipes

Healthy Maryland Crab Cake Recipe

2010 is the year of the crab cake! Ok, its not but on the Crab Cake Guy website I am always looking for new crab cake recipes and great crab cake ideas. I recently tested out the Healthy Maryland Crab Cake Recipe. Overall I found this to be flavorful and when paired with a crab cake sauce this is worth a try. Please check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks and enjoy.

1/4c mayonnaise (fat free if your looking to cut some calories)
1 lightly beaten large egg
1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
Minced Parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Three dashes of tabasco sauce
1 lb fresh lump crabmeat (be sure to go through and remove excess shells)
1/2 cup finley coursed whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of light olive oil
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Form minxture into 5-6 good sized patties. Heat the light olive oil until very hot in a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Cook the patties until golden on each side, about 5 min per side. As an alternative you can also You can also opt to broil the crab cakes. If you choose to broil, lightly brush each cake with olive oil prior to baking. Enjoy!

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
Crab Cake Recipes

Crab Cake Sauce Recipes

My apologies… It has been a while since I posted on the Crab Cake Guy blog. I have been busy testing new crab cake recipes and putting together some crab cake sauces. Below are 3 different variations of sauces for crab cakes. Please test them out and let me know what you think. Thanks

Creamy Crab Cake Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup hot salsa
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions
1. Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, cottage cheese, salsa, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and yogurt in a blender and puree until smooth. Chill before serving.

Savory Crab Cake Cream Sauce:
Ingredients
3 Crab shells chopped in half
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs basil
1 bay leaf
1 Roman tomato, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups water
2 cups heavy cream
salt and freshly ground white pepper

Directions
1. Place the crab shells in a roasting pan and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until orange and slightly browned.
2. Remove and set aside.
3. heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.
4, Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, basil, bay leaf, tomato and roasted lobster heads.
5. Add the white wine, stir to deglaze the pan, and cook for 1 minute. Add the water, bring to a simmer, and decrease the heat to low.
6. Cook at a low simmer for 15 minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook to reduce the liquid by three-quarters.
7. Add the cream and cook for 10 minutes longer, until slightly thick.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the liquid into a clean saucepan, pressing down on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract as much of the liquid as possible.
9. Set over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes, or until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and let cool. Cover and refrigerate.

Crab Cake Sauce with Chives

Ingredients
1/4 cup Dry White Wine
1 teaspoon Sherry Vinegar
1/4 cup Vegetable Stock
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons unsalted Butter, diced
4 tablespoons chopped Fresh Chives

Directions
1. Add dry white wine, sherry vinegar and vegetable stock to saucepan.
2. Heat over medium heat, and reduce volume by half.
3. Stir in heavy cream and cook another 4 minutes.
4. Add butter pieces one by one, stirring while they melt.
5. Remove sauce from heat and add chives.
6. Serve hot over crab cakes.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
Crab Cake Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso
Crab Cake Guy’s recommended reading

Dungeness Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli

Dungeness Crab Cakes Recipe

This Dungeness crab cake recipe combines the delicate taste of the dungeness crab cakes with the acidity of lemon aioli. An easy to prepare recipe this one can be made with dungeness or blue crab. Try it out and let me know how it tastes. -The Crab Cake Guy

Crab Cakes

• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons finely diced celery
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 1/2 pounds cleaned Dungeness crab meat
• 1/4 pound fresh scallops
• Fresh ground white pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon chopped Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallion
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• Panko breadcrumbs

Lemon Aioli

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon saffron
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch cayenne
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Pick over crab, checking for shell. Do not break up chunks of meat, chill.
2. Place the scallops in a blender with a pinch of salt and fresh ground white pepper.
3. Turn on the blender, and slowly add heavy cream in a steady steam.
4. Scrape down the sides of the blender with a rubber spatula, then blend the mixture one more time to make sure the scallop mousse is smooth. Set aside.
5. In a bowl with the crab, add the mustard, celery, herbs and lemon zest and lightly toss to evenly distribute the ingredients.
6. Fold the scallop mousse into the crab mixture, again taking care not to break up the meat.
7. Taste, and season, as needed with salt, white pepper, cayenne and lemon juice as needed.
8. If mixture seems dry and will not hold together, beat and stir in one whole egg to bind.
9. Form crab mixture into cakes and chill.
10. For the aioli, place all the ingredients in a blender except the oil.
11. Turn on the blender and slowly drizzle the oil in a steam until it is completely incorporated into the emulsion. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
12. Heat a film of olive oil in a large skillet or griddle. Place panko on a sheet pan.
13. Dip each side of the crab cake lightly in the panko and brown lightly until golden and crab mixture is warmed through. Serve hot garnished with aioli and a drizzle of Lemon olive oil.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
The Crab Cake Guy’s Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso
Crab Cake Guy’s recommended reading

Captain Buddy’s Deviled Crab Cakes
courtesy of Buddy’s Seafood Restaurant in Charleston, North Carolina

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 lbs fresh crabmeat, picked over for shells and flaked
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup crushed soda cracker (saltines)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• hot pepper sauce
• 3-4 tablespoons milk (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add celery,green pepper and onion and cook, stirring constantly until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Do not let vegetables brown.
4. Add crabmeat,chopped egg,mayonnaise,cracker crumbs and parsley and toss lightly.
5. Season to taste with salt,pepper and hot sauce.
6. (If mixture seems too thick, stir in milk one tablespoon at a time.).
7. Butter scallop, blue crab shells or individual ramekins.
8. Fill evenly with crab mixture.
9. Bake until tops are golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.
10. Serve immediately.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
The Crab Cake Guy’s Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso
Crab Cake Guy’s recommended reading

Halloween Crab Cakes

From Cooking Brooke’s blog check out her take on Pumpkin Crab cakes. I haven’t had the chance to sample these cakes yet, buy according to the site “the pumpkin gives the dish a nice nutty flavor that’s not overly sweet and balances the sweetness of the crab”… can’t wait to try it out!

If your looking for some other interesting ways to prepare crab, I recommend heading over to the Crab Recipes site… They recently posted this recipe for

Harbour House Maryland Crab Cakes
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
5 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 lb. crab meat, cartilage removed

Whisk all ingredients except crab meat in medium bowl, mixing well. Fold in crab meat lightly but thoroughly. Form into 6 cakes. Deep fry at 350F until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Or fry lightly in olive oil in heavy pan, 3-4 minutes each side.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
The Crab Cake Guy’s Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso
Crab Cake Guy’s recommended reading

Spicy Crab Cakes

Here is a crab cake recipe for those of you who like to “Kick it Up a Notch” here is a recipe for Spicy Crab Cakes with Horseradish Mayo. The horseradish mayo gives a refreshing kick to the spicy crab cakes. If you are looking for a way to add spice to the traditional crab cake recipe then try this one out…

Spicy Crab Cake Ingredients

• 4-5 slices white sandwich bread
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 2 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 pound cooked fresh crabmeat, picked over and drained

Horseradish Mayo Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp prepared horseradish (see how to make horseradish for a scratch version)
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt

Directions

1. Tear up the bread and pulse in a food processor to make fine, soft crumbs (about 4 cups). Transfer the bread crumbs to a shallow pan and mix in 1/2 cup of the parsley.
2. In a food processor, combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, mustard, paprika, thyme, and black pepper. Pulse to combine.
3. With the motor running, add the oil through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream until the mixture emulsifies and forms a mayonnaise-type sauce.
4. Transfer sauce to a bowl.
5. In a large bowl, combine the onion and bell pepper with the remaining 1/4 cup of parsley.
6. Add the mayonnaise-type sauce and crabmeat and mix lightly.
7. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 cup of the bread crumb mixture.
8. Gently form 6 cakes and flatten them into patties about 1/2 inch thick.
9. Place the patties lightly in the remaining bread crumb mixture.
10. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat and add about 2 Tbsp of butter to the pan.
11. Fry crab cakes gently 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and heated through.
12. To prepare the horseradish mayo, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
The Crab Cake Guy’s Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso
Crab Cake Guy’s recommended reading

Crab Cake Video Chef George Panayiotuo
Ruth’s Chris, Mobile Alabama

Gotta love crab cakes especially when they are prepared by Ruth’s Chris Chef George Panayiotuo. Below is the breakdown of his recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 LB. LUMP CRABMEAT (DARK LEG MEAT MAY BE USED
• 2 ½ CUPS SOFT BREAD CRUMBS
• 1 EGG, BEATEN
• ¾ CUP MAYONNAISE
• 1/3 CUP EACH: CHOPPED CELERY, GREEN BELL PEPPER, GREEN ONION
• 1 TABLESPOON SEAFOOD SEASONING (OLD BAY PREFERRED)
• 1 TABLESPOON MINCED FRESH PARSLEY
• 1 TABLESPOON LEMON JUICE
• 1 TEASPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
• 2 TEASPOON YELLOW MUSTARD
• ¼ TEASPOON BLACK PEPPER
• DASH OF HOT PEPPER SAUCE

Directions

1. COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL, HAND MIX WELL.
2. SHAPE INTO 8 LARGE OR 12 SMALL PATTIES.
3. BROIL OR COOK IN A LIGHTLY OILED SKILLET FOR 3 TO 4 MINUTES PER SIDE OR UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN.
4. SERVE WITH LEMON SLICES, SLAW AND REMOULADE OR TARTER SAUCE.

Additional Resources:
I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance
Crab Cake Recipes
The Crab Lover’s Book: Recipes & More by Mary Ethelyn Orso