A True Shore Dinner…Crab Cakes!

September 11, 2014

Combined, the ladies at MESW.com have been to A LOT of weddings. Nothing says Eastern Shore like “steak and cake” at your reception. It is by far the most popular entrée here and probably in the whole state of Maryland. While a good filet can be found in any region, we take pride in knowing how to prepare our local blue crabs.

In our upcoming Issue of Inspired!, we will be sharing a few of our very favorite crab cake recipes! You can’t wait you say? Well, you’re in luck…

Jane’s Crab Cakes
Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
4 Tbls. mayonnaise
4 tsps. drained horseradish (optional)
4 tsps. Dijon mustard
salt (optional) and fresh pepper
2 tsps. Old Bay
4 tsps. Worcestershire Sauce
a dash of Tabasco (or more!)
2 lbs lump or backfin crabmeat
1/2 c. crushed Saltines
4 Tbls. vegetable oil
4 Tbls. butter

1. In a large bowl combine egg, mayo, horseradish, mustard, salt & pepper, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco.
2. Toss mixture gently with crab and saltines.
3. Form the mixture into 3/4″ patties.
4. Refrigerate for one hour, if possible.
5. Heat oil and butter until foam subsides.
6. Saute cakes 6-8 minutes a side, until golden. Drain on paper towel.
7. Enjoy!

We soooo enjoyed making this classic crab cake at Melissa’s house! The recipe was garnered from our favorite foodie website, Food52.com though we did change a few things to suit our tastes. First, we didn’t add salt. We felt that the Old Bay was enough spice. Also, Melissa is allergic to horseradish so we left that out as well. We also felt that sauteing the cakes for 6-8 mins. was just a bit too long. We suggest that you watch closely and flip when they reach a golden brown. The recipe was easily cut in half, so if you are having a small dinner party you can use 1lb of crab meat instead of 2lbs (save a little money, especially important if you make these out of crab season!)

Bon appetite!