It all started about 2 months ago, when my good friend and past housemate (and avid reader of this blog– hi, Rachel) mentioned that she wants to meet up at Chickie’s & Pete’s some day over the summer, which may or may not be my favorite sports bar due to it’s abundance of shellfish, mollusks, and Old Bay seasoned “Crab Fries” served with melted cheese dip that you can enjoy while guzzling down a beer and cheering on your team. It’s really a staple of South Jersey / Philadelphia, and if you’ve ever enjoyed their crab legs, which are served dirty Maryland Style with seasoned juices dripping into pools of flavor, you know why.
And exactly that– the thought of Old Bay and crab and good beer– has consumed my thoughts for the past 2 months. I didn’t want to go to Chickie’s & Pete’s without Rachel, but her busy schedule was leaving me with a huge void where good crab belonged. Then, wouldn’t you know it, I finally remembered hey, I’m a food blogger and decided to make a crab recipe myself.
What came of that decision was maybe too good for words, but I’ll try my best. I’m a bit of a crab cake connoisseur– they’re right up there on my list of favorite foods, maybe even ahead of pretzels– but I’ve never had a crab cake like this before. I’ve had crab cakes that were proclaimed “the best”. I’ve had crab cakes that say they have “tons of flavor” and “hardly any filler” and what-have-you. I’ll tell you what, though, I’ve been wronged. This is the crab cake of my dreams, in all of its lump crab glory, and I will most certainly be making it again and again and again. And again after that.
I made these crab cakes on Mother’s Day for my family, and the feedback was great. These would make awesome and surprisingly easy appetizers or meals for any get together, and your guests will beg for the recipe. Just make sure you make the Horseradish-Sriracha Remoulade, because it’s just not quite the same without it!
The recipe for the remoulade was adapted from Food Network Star Jeff Mauro, and it is perfect for any type of fried seafood. Try it on fried clams or fried shrimp, too, and you won’t be disappointed. It’s way better than even the greatest tartar sauce, in my opinion, although I may be somewhat biased due to my love of both Horseradish and Sriracha. Still, even my grandparents– who refuse to eat spicy food– were in love with the sauce, so that’s gotta mean something.
Maryland Crab Cakes with Horseradish-Sriracha Remoulade
- Prep Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
These crab cakes use hardly any filler for the best crab flavor, are seasoned with Old Bay, and are topped with a delicious Horseradish-Sriracha Remoulade.
Ingredients
For the Remoulade:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 shallot, coarsely chopped
For the Crab Cakes:
- 1 lb fresh lump crab meat
- 1/2 cup saltine crackers, crushed (or dry breadcrumbs)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
Instructions
For the Remoulade:
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and combine until smooth. Refrigerate until serving.
For the Crab Cakes:
- In a small bowl, mix cracker (or bread) crumbs, mustard, Old Bay and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine egg, mayonnaise, and Worcestershire sauce. Gently fold in the crumb mixture.
- Add the crab meat and parsley, and gently shape into 6 cakes, making sure not to break up the crab meat. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Refrigerate the cakes for at least an hour to ensure that they won’t fall apart while cooking.
- Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the crab cakes for about 6-8 minutes, gently flipping half-way through. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven.
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Avid reader is so true!!!!! Can’t wait to make these crab cakes
How do we mix the crab meat in the crumb mixture without breaking up the meat?
You just want to fold it in carefully. Some may break apart, and that’s okay, but the majority should be able to stay intact! Hope that helps, Anabel!
Once u add all the ingredients together add bread crumbs last they will stay intact..
A secret binder is 2 tbs instant potatoes.
Use 2 tbsp. Instant potato flakes.
Great binder that blends in well.
That sauce sounds amazing! I will definitely have to give it a try.
In the crab cake recipe, is the one tsp of mustard dry mustard, yellow, or dijon??? Thank you
Hi Sheri! You can use whatever kind of mustard you prefer– I usually use dijon since it is also in the Remoulade!
Made this recipe for NY Eve. The crab cakes were very good, but the remoulade was AMAZING. I AM NOT KIDDING- this is and absolutely incredible sauce. I had also made spinach balls and used the remoulade as a sauce for those. Everyone loved that sauce. I plan on using it on black bean burgers and to dip roasted veggies in. Thanks so much for this one!
agreed! I made just the sauce for my store bought crab cakes and everyone really loved it! I will put this one in my recipe box. Thank you.
Can I use imitation crab meat for this recipe?
Only if you want to get a visit from the Maryland Crab Police….
Hello! I stumbled upon your blog while perusing pinterest yesterday for a crab cake recipe. I made these last night for my husband and a friend from out of town and they were amazed! I added some chopped jalapeno and green onion and they turned out fabulous!! My husband could not get over how good the Horseradish-Sriracha Remoulade was! He was so sad when he realized there were no crab cakes left. Great recipe with minimal “filling” and very crabby! Thank you!
Can I leave out the capers in the sauce? This recipe itself sounds AMAZING and I have printed it and will be trying it soon.
Yep! That will be fine. =)
OMG, this is totally fantastic. I am totally blown away by the Horseradish-Sriracha Remoulade sauce. I already had the crab cakes (almost identical recipe) frozen and was looking for something other than tartar sauce when I came upon your site. I had everything and made just a few additions. I added 1 large chopped garlic clove and some fresh parsley along with some fresh ground black pepper. This is by far the best remouade I have ever had. i can think of so many other uses besides crab cakes too. Thank you so much for sharing, this is a keeper.
These are absolutely amazing! We had been spoiled by crab cakes in Maine and could never find them locally that even came close. THIS is the recipe! I’ve shared it so many times and made it so many times! Do yourself a favor and try this recipe if you love crabcakes!
Do you serve sauce hot or cold
You should serve it at room temperature, or just slightly cold.
I am going to make this tomorrow. I bought supreme crab (what I can afford) instead of select or jumbo lump crab. My question is, I’ve never used shallots before. It seems to have cloves like garlic. Do I chop the whole bunch or just one clove? Can’t wait to try this, thanks so much!! — Nina
One shallot usually refers to the whole thing (even though it’s often separated into two or more cloves). I had to look that up a few years ago because I also wasn’t sure about that. Hope you enjoy the crab cakes, Nina! =)
This will be a recipe I will definitely try. To answer an earlier question I think imitation crab would be fine to use. But why not splurge and go for the other. Either way it will be yummy with the remoulade.
You’re going to need 2 eggs for the the crab meat to bind with the crimb mixture, therewise it doesn’t bind togethet.
Good tip!
Easy to make and the result couldn’t be any better! Delicious on its own but the remoulade is excellent too! Highly recommended since it’s so confusing to decide on a recipe – but this will be it for me.
Just made this recipe with my Mom and we both agreed restaurant quality or better! We both love crab cakes and have had a number of delicious ones on the East Coast. Hands down definitely will be making again and the roulade is sooooooo good!!!
★★★★★
Excellent, and simply delicious.Probably one of the best crab cake recipes I ever had. A little Old Bay makes it real good!
★★★★★
This remoulade sauce was absolutely amazing! Thank you for the recipe.
I made these and they are delicious!
★★★★★
Can you make this recipe and freeze the cakes before cooking
I just prepped this and am waiting on it chilling before cooking.
I did a few minor modifications…
For the crab, I used panko, substituted arugula for the parsley and also added some Spanish paprika.
For the remoulade, I used wasabi instead to horseradish, I was tempted to toss in some ginger but didn’t.
Can’t wait to try them!
The remoulade is great. Crab cakes had very good flavor, but this recipe definitely needs 2 eggs to hold the cakes together better. Mine fell apart.
★★★★
I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now. They truly are a crowd pleasure, sooo good. Has anyone made them as small crab balls before? Do they stay together? Looking to make them as an appetizer.
★★★★★
Tried this recipe this weekend. I would definitely serve to company. Very easy to make. I took the suggestion of others and used 2 eggs and they held together just fine. The remoulade sauce is what separates this recipes from others.
★★★★★
Added a teaspoon of dried dill to the remoulade, absolutely perfect!
★★★★★
Can I combine lump with canned crab to help these stick together when cooking? And can I freeze them before cooking?
Yes, you can use canned crab for these! And you can freeze the uncooked crab cakes– just put them on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer for about 2 hours before wrapping in plastic wrap individually and transferring to a freezer bag.
Fantastic! Made a vegan version of the sauce with crabless cakes. It was amazing!
★★★★★
Just made the Remoulade sauce and it came out very think, super tasty but runny. Did I do something wrong. I did “double” the recipe as I wanted more sauce.
Unbelievably easy, yet incredibly delicious recipe that “wowed” my guests. The sauce IS great, as everyone has said, but the crab cakes themselves were so good! Full of crab meat with little filler. This will be my go to recipe to impress!
Can you heat the remoulade sauce for crab cakes or do you serve it cold?