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
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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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Rachel says
May 24, 2013 at 11:21 amAvid reader is so true!!!!! Can’t wait to make these crab cakes
Anabel says
November 9, 2013 at 7:06 amHow do we mix the crab meat in the crumb mixture without breaking up the meat?
Morgan says
November 11, 2013 at 9:46 amYou 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!
Junel Huddleston says
December 4, 2014 at 7:31 pmOnce u add all the ingredients together add bread crumbs last they will stay intact..
James criss says
September 27, 2018 at 7:43 pmA secret binder is 2 tbs instant potatoes.
Teresa says
March 30, 2014 at 2:11 pmThat sauce sounds amazing! I will definitely have to give it a try.
Sheri says
September 27, 2014 at 1:18 pmIn the crab cake recipe, is the one tsp of mustard dry mustard, yellow, or dijon??? Thank you
Morgan says
September 29, 2014 at 9:16 amHi Sheri! You can use whatever kind of mustard you prefer– I usually use dijon since it is also in the Remoulade!
Diane says
January 7, 2015 at 5:28 pmMade 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!
Vanessa says
July 6, 2015 at 7:16 pmCan I use imitation crab meat for this recipe?
James Roe says
February 11, 2018 at 6:52 amOnly if you want to get a visit from the Maryland Crab Police….
Jamielynn says
September 10, 2015 at 2:11 pmHello! 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!
Janet Bradley says
May 24, 2016 at 7:08 amCan I leave out the capers in the sauce? This recipe itself sounds AMAZING and I have printed it and will be trying it soon.
Morgan says
May 24, 2016 at 8:06 pmYep! That will be fine. =)
John Lee says
September 22, 2016 at 5:13 pmOMG, 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.
Adair says
December 4, 2016 at 2:05 pmThese 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!
Dawn says
December 22, 2016 at 11:46 amDo you serve sauce hot or cold
Morgan says
December 22, 2016 at 12:46 pmYou should serve it at room temperature, or just slightly cold.
Nina Preston says
January 21, 2017 at 5:54 pmI 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
Morgan says
January 22, 2017 at 1:39 pmOne 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! =)
GyrlSmylee says
April 27, 2017 at 10:48 pmThis 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.
Micaella says
April 24, 2018 at 8:16 pmYou’re going to need 2 eggs for the the crab meat to bind with the crimb mixture, therewise it doesn’t bind togethet.
Marcia says
May 1, 2018 at 7:42 amEasy 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.
Alyssa says
May 6, 2018 at 4:03 pmJust 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!!!
★★★★★
Crab Dynasty says
May 20, 2018 at 11:17 amExcellent, and simply delicious.Probably one of the best crab cake recipes I ever had. A little Old Bay makes it real good!
★★★★★
Bensmom says
June 30, 2018 at 5:34 pmThis remoulade sauce was absolutely amazing! Thank you for the recipe.
Teslie says
July 10, 2018 at 12:58 pmI made these and they are delicious!
★★★★★
Susan says
July 16, 2018 at 3:17 pmCan you make this recipe and freeze the cakes before cooking
Miguel says
December 25, 2018 at 5:09 pmI 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!
Rachel says
January 11, 2019 at 4:46 pmThe 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.
★★★★
Jennifer says
February 3, 2019 at 12:19 pmI’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.
★★★★★
Grace says
June 30, 2019 at 9:57 pmTried 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.
★★★★★
Jennifer says
February 13, 2015 at 3:28 pmCan you heat the remoulade sauce for crab cakes or do you serve it cold?