Description
This crab cake recipe is inspired by the crab cakes served at Dockside in Virginia Beach. Dockside uses Old Bay seasoning in their crab cakes, but I could barely taste it and because I’m not a huge fan of it anyway, I just omitted it. If you like Old Bay, go for it, but don’t over do it — the crabmeat is so tasty on its own.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. jumbo lump or backfin crabmeat
- kosher salt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade with tarragon
- 6 tablespoons (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) panko bread crumbs
- squeeze of lemon (less than half of a lemon, so maybe a teaspoon)
- a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped tarragon, parsley or chives, for mixing with the mayo
- melted butter, for brushing
- lemon wedges, for serving
- tartar sauce (recipe below), for serving, optionalfor the Tartar Sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade with tarragon
- 8 cornichons, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 small shallot, minced
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Place crabmeat in a large mixing bowl. Being careful not to break up the lumps too much, spread out the crabmeat into a single layer in the bowl. Season lightly with salt. Add the mayonnaise, panko, lemon juice and herb (if using). Gently fold all of the ingredients together using your hands or a spatula. The mixture should barely hold together when formed into a cake.
- Preheat the broiler. (Rack should be about 4 inches from the heat source.) Lightly grease a sheet pan with butter. (Note: Before doing this, take a look at your broiler and make a visual note about where the burning elements will line up with your pan. For instance, I have two coils in my broiler, so when I greased my sheet pan with butter, I greased only the parts where I was planning on placing the crab cakes, which would eventually line up with the two heating elements in the broiler. Hope that makes sense.)
- Portion your crab mixture into 8 cakes. I use my 1/4 cup measuring cup as a portioner and my hands to gently form the cakes. Place cakes on sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
- Brush each cake with melter butter. Broil five minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce on the side if desired.
- Make the tartar sauce: Place all ingredients in a bowl. Stir. Taste. Adjust accordingly.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes