I went to college in Baltimore.  Boston has my heart, but Baltimore definitely had a few perks – the inner harbor, $5 baseball games at Camden Yards, and of course, an abundance of delicious, buttery blue crab. Plus, The Wire… Hamsterdam…enough said.

Crab in Baltimore doesn’t just come in the form of cakes – there are crab pretzels, crab dips, and crab fests (where loads of Old Bay-seasoned steamed crabs are piled onto the table for everyone to enjoy with a mallet and lots of beer – yum).

Living in the Tri-State Area and now Boston, you’d assume that good crab cakes aren’t too hard to find.  Alas, I’ve too often ordered cakes of crab with excitement only to sadly receive amorphous lumps of mostly  filler along with some barely discernible shredded crab.  In Baltimore on the other hand, most restaurants will serve authentic crab cakes packed with delicious lump crab meat, sans filler.

One of the problems that I’ve found with using jumbo lump crab meat (which is notably more expensive than shredded, but totally worth the money) is that the larger pieces complicate the integrity of the cake.  However, I’ve found a simple recipe that preserves the jumbo crab meat while still retaining its shape!

This is truly a restaurant-quality crab cake and surprisingly simple to make. I adapted it from a Food & Wine recipe that purported to call these “Baltimore Crab Cakes” but omitted the quintessential Baltimorian ingredient – Old Bay Seasoning! Unacceptable.

The star of this recipe is the crab, and this recipe really brings it to the forefront by using minimal other ingredients.

Tip 1: The key is to use a cast iron pan to cook the cakes – a good sear is essential to keeping them together without breaking apart.

Tip 2: Although this recipe is super simple to make, crab is EXPENSIVE!  You can save significant money if you buy from a wholesale club such as BJs or Costco, and keep your eye out for a good sale – the cans keep well for a long time so you can always buy now, make later.

Baltimore Crab Cakes

Adapted from Food & Wine

Yield: 8 crab cakes //  Prep: 30 minutes // Total time: 1 hr 30 minutes

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked over for shells
• 20 saltine crackers, finely crushed (I used a food processor)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• Lemon wedges, for serving
• Chives, for garnish

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning and hot sauce until smooth.

In a medium bowl, lightly toss the crab with the cracker crumbs. Carefully fold the mayonnaise mixture into the crab until just combined, being very careful not to break up the crab. Cover and refrigerate the mixture for at least 1 hour.

With your hands, gently form the mixture into 8 cakes approximately 1.5 inches thick.  Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add four of the crab cakes and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Use a splatter screen and apron as the oil will do its best to burn you and ruin your clothes [I speak from experience]. Repeat for remaining four cakes.

Transfer cakes to a plate, garnish with chives and serve with lemon wedges.

Make ahead tip: Can chill the mixture overnight.

Enjoy.