Maryland Style Crab Cakes

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These delicious lump crab meat crab cakes are made with very little filler.    They are seasoned with Old Bay, lemon juice, and a few other key ingredients for the best crab cakes you’ve ever had! This post originally published February 2011.

A plate with a golden brown crab cake with a lemon wedge.

I am not from Maryland but my husband is.  I never heard of a crab feast until I moved to Maryland when I was 22.

Living in Pittsburgh I knew people ate crabs, but I wasn’t one of them.  No one in my family ate crabs either so it just wasn’t something I knew about.

When I moved to Maryland and met my now husband crabs were just part of life.  People here have huge parties with newspaper covered tables, Old Bay seasoning, and beer.  They sit around for hours picking crabs, dunking them in butter, and rolling the pieces in Old Bay.

I’ve been to these feasts several times and have even learned to pick a few crabs myself, but I don’t eat the raw crab meat.  My husband on the other hand lives for picking crabs.  I will, however, eat one of his amazing Maryland Crab Cakes.

Ingredients:

  • lump crab meat
  • white bread
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • brown mustard
  • mayonnaise
  • egg
  • Old Bay seasoning
  • lemons
To Make the Crab Cakes: Combine the bread, egg, and crab meat in a bowl.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, mayonnaise, Old Bay, and lemon juice.  Divide into 4 parts.  Shape into patties and place in a baking dish.

This week jumbo lump crab meat was on sale at the market so I bought a pound to surprise him.  He was excited to make his famous Maryland style crab cakes and so was I!

Pin Image:  Text, a plate with a crab cake on it and a lemon slice.

The recipe is pretty basic as you want a lot of crab, a few seasonings, and not a lot of filler.  There is just enough bread in these to hold them together but not enough to take away from the flavor of the crab and Old Bay.

Do I have to use Old Bay Seasoning?

Yes.   If you want a Maryland Style Crab Cake it’s a must.  This seasoning is used on all seafood here in Maryland and if you use something else it definitely isn’t Maryland style.  As Maryland is famous for its crabs you are going to want to make these crab cakes and use this seasoning.

What is lump crab meat?

Lump crab meat is one of the meatier pieces of the crab.  It’s made of smaller or broken pieces of jump lump along with a few smaller pieces of the body meat.  It’s white, has a delicate flavor, and is a highly desired part of the crab.

Can I use something instead of white bread?

The only other substitute for white bread would be crushed Saltine crackers.  They are a suitable substitute for the torn bread pieces.

These crab cake can be pan fried but my husband usually bakes them in the oven until they are a crispy golden brown.  I love the spiciness of the Old Bay mixed with the fresh crab meat.

He then adds a touch of brightness with the fresh lemon slices on top.  The crab cakes are great on a bun as a sandwich for lunch or just by themselves for a special dinner.

If you like crab cakes make sure to save this recipe!  It’s been made by a lot of our friends and everyone loves them!

A plate with a crab cake on it.

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If you’ve tried my Maryland Style Crab Cakes or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

 
 

A plate with a golden brown crab cake with a lemon wedge.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Delicious baked Maryland Style crab cakes are light on filler and full of flavor!
4.91 from 22 votes
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 crab cakes
Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lump crab meat we use Maryland blue crab when we can get it
  • 1 slice of white bread torn into pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon brown mustard
  • 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
  • Juice from half a lemon plus 4 lemon slices

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a medium sized baking dish with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl mix the pieces of bread, beaten egg, and crab meat. 
  • Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, mayonnaise, Old Bay, and lemon juice.
  • Divide the crab cake mixture into 4 parts.  Shape into patties and place in the prepared pan.  Top with a slice of lemon.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

Original recipe from my husband, Frank.

A plate with a crab cake and a lemon slice on top.

7 Comments

  1. There are 3 of us sisters (ages 61 to 72) that adore seafood. What would someone serve with this? I know I could eat 3 of them myself. Lol
    Any suggestions?
    Thanks

    1. We usually either eat them with french fries or mac n cheese. Corn or corn salad is also pretty popular with crab cakes. Grilled veggies are another popular side dish. I hope you love these! I never ate crab until I tried these!

  2. I was introduced to crab cakes as an adult and fell in love! Yours sound delicious!

  3. I made these today and they are DELICIOUS! I added a little fresh parsley and used 1 Tablespoon of Old Bay and they were perfect. Great balance of crab and filler. Will be making again! Thanks for a great recipe, Heather!

  4. This is pretty close to true MD. cakes, and I was given this recipe from a bud that worked for a Baltimore Milling company. One thing I don’t use the crust of the bread and I have a secret ingredient as well.

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