Name: Maryland Crab Cakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 62 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 220 g Crab Meat, picked over for shell pieces; ⅓ cup Breadcrumbs, fine; 1 Egg, lightly beaten; 1½ tbsp Mayonnaise, for binding; 1 tsp Dijon Mustard, for tang; 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce, for savory depth; 1 tsp Lemon Juice, fresh; 1 tbsp Parsley, finely chopped; ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper, freshly ground if possible; ¼ tsp Salt, adjust based on crab and sauce saltiness; 2 tbsp Neutral Oil, for pan-frying

1 hr 2 mintotal

32 min hands-on30 min hands-off

Prep 20 min · Cook 12 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild

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Method

In a bowl, mix the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and black pepper until smooth.
Gently fold in the crab meat and breadcrumbs, keeping the crab pieces as intact as possible.
Shape the mixture into small cakes and chill until firm enough to handle.
Heat the measured oil in a skillet over medium heat. Pan-fry the crab cakes until golden on one side, then carefully turn and brown the other side.
Drain briefly and serve while hot, before the crust softens.

How to tell it's done

The outside should be golden and lightly crisp, while the inside stays moist and crab-rich.

Getting it right

Tip

Turn the crab cakes only once if possible; too much handling can break their delicate structure.

What to serve it with

Serve with lemon wedges, a simple salad, or a light mayonnaise-based sauce.

Common mistakes

The cakes fall apart in the pan.: Chill them until genuinely firm before frying, and turn them once only. Maryland crab cakes are deliberately light on binder, which means they need the fridge to hold together rather than more breadcrumb.
They taste of filler rather than crab.: Fold gently and keep the lumps whole. The point of a Maryland crab cake is visible crab; mixed hard, it shreds into the mayonnaise and you have lost it.

Substitutions

Use good-quality crab meat and avoid overmixing; Maryland-style crab cakes should taste crab-forward.
If the mixture feels too wet, add a small extra spoon of breadcrumbs rather than crushing the crab meat.
Worcestershire sauce can contain fish, so keep the fish allergen unless using a verified fish-free version.
Chilling is important for shape; skipping it can make the cakes break while frying.

Storing and reheating

Shaped raw cakes keep a day in the fridge and freeze for a month — that is the best way to prepare ahead. Cooked ones keep two days but the crust softens; refresh in a hot oven rather than a pan.

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Ingredients