Baltimore-style Crab Cakes
Finite Cellars Wine pairing: 2024 Laurelwood District Chardonnay
Recipe Origin: Andrew Zimmern’s Kitchen Adventures
Scale of difficulty: (5/10)
Our Finite Cellars Laurelwood District Chardonnay and these savory Baltimore-style, no filler/no bull, crab cakes are the perfect pairing on a Friday night. With a quick 1 hour fridge set after mixing, or prepare the night before, roast some sheet pan veggies in the oven and you have a quick meal that is super tasty and filling. I agree with Andrew when he says, “this is the best crab cakes recipe you will ever find,” probably because the origin is from a Baltimore Grandma 35 years ago.
Make sure to source some quality crab meat, should smell neutral and slightly sweet but not like the Baltimore docks. Because we are going with no minced red pepper, no parsley, no onions etc, none of the usual fillers that ruin the pure, unadulterated crab cake heaven, quality of each ingredient is paramount as noted in the recipe details below. Be careful to not overmix the meat, as we want to lump crab to almost flake apart as they cook on the cast iron pan.
For the crab cakes (makes 8 large or 24-36 mini donut-hole-sized cakes)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (quality store bought or homemade)
1 large pasture-raised egg, beaten
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 lb jumbo lump dungenesss crab meat, picked over
20 saltine crackers, finely crushed or 1 cup panko bread crumbs (option for gluten-free bread crumbs here)
Sea salt, if not using saltine crackers, or Old Bay Seasoning if you want the full Maryland experience
1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving
In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce until smooth.
In a medium bowl, lightly toss the crabmeat with the cracker or bread crumbs, season with salt or Old Bay if necessary. Gently fold, do not overmix, in the mayonnaise mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Scoop the crab mixture into eight 1/3-cup mounds; lightly pack into 8 patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. Working in batches in a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the crab cakes and cook over moderately high heat until deeply golden and heated through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the crab cakes to plates and serve with lemon wedges and oven roasted vegetables. (Also pairs well with garlic-parmesan mashed potatoes or white rice)
To make ahead of time, the crab cakes can be prepared through tossing of the meat and wet ingredients and refrigerated overnight.
Leftovers can be put in the fridge, if they don’t all get eaten, and served cold on toast with a sliced tomato and Russian dressing.