Jayne: Maryland is known for crab dishes and for pan-fried chicken. I love both, but crab wins (and we’ve covered fried chicken a couple mes already).
Crab shack dinners and crab feasts are great fun. You spend hours cracking and picking crab and drinking beer with family and friends. Inevitably, I cut my hands and the little cuts sting like crazy from the Old Bay seasoning (hence, the beer). I scrub my nails to get all the bits of crab and seasoning out of them and my hands still smell like crabs for the whole next day. But it is worth it for the prize of a giant, lump of crab meat. Whatever you don’t eat, you save for soup or Imperial.
I grew up in the Mid-Atlanc, where crabs are a big part of the food culture. They are on every restaurant menu in some shape or form. And almost everybody without a shellfish allergy knows how to steam them (beer and Old Bay). With the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean bordering Maryland, “crabbing” is popular along the coast. All you need is a piece of string, chicken necks for bait and a big net to scoop them up (or a crab trap). This is done all along the Mid-Atlanc coast, from Delaware through the Carolina’s.
The ultimate Maryland crab cake is basically big lumps of crabmeat gently held together by as little as possible, then fried or broiled. They shouldn’t look perfectly formed – you want lumps of crab sticking out in some places – a little shaggy is good. The outside should be lightly browned and crisp.
The most important considerations are (1) your crab meat — the best and most expensive is jumbo lump, (2) your binder — breadcrumbs or saltine crackers, (3) your “fat/liquid” — mayo or milk, (4) seasonings — cayenne, paprika, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and then (5) broiled or fried.
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over
- 1 large egg
- 2 T. mayo
- 1 c. fresh breadcrumbs, separated
- 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
- ¼ t. dry mustard
- Scant 1 t. ground black pepper
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- Canola oil for cooking
- Lemon for serving
- Whisk the egg, mayo, 1/3 cup of the breadcrumbs and seasonings until smooth. Gently add your crab meat and mix unl combined (preserve the lumps). Shape into patties and dredge both sides in the remaining breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for 10 – 15 minutes to let them set.
- Heat oil (about 1/8” deep) in large skillet until hot, but not smoking. Place the crab cakes in the skillet and brown each side (about 3 – 4 minutes/side).
- Serve with lemon. My favorite garnish is mango/pineapple salsa, which isn’t in any way from Maryland, but it adds zing.
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