Herby Maryland Crab Cakes

Have I ever told you that I’m what’s considered to be a “cheap date”? It’s true. Especially at a steak house. Since I don’t eat steak, my order is reliably the same every time – the crab cake appetizer. It’s less than half the price of a steak, and makes me ridiculously happy when served with a baked potato or, if I’m feeling frisky, scalloped potatoes. I don’t really ever order crab cakes anywhere but a steakhouse. Not sure why. And I had never made them at home. But recently, my parents visited from Florida and they wanted steak. I’ll give you three guesses what I made to go with their steaks. These Herby Maryland Crab Cakes stole the show, and even my meat-and-potatoes father raved about them. Sometimes you just get lucky on the first try, you know?

What makes these Maryland Crab Cakes herby?

For the herbs, fresh parsley is always a great complement to seafood, but what I’m most obsessed with is tarragon. I absolutely love tarragon with any kind of shellfish. I feel like it gets a bad rap because of it’s ever-so-slight taste of anise. Let me be the first to say, I am not a fan of anise or black licorice. And I’m being polite right now. So I’m promising you, tarragon does not fall into that bucket. It’s super mild and fragrant and adds that special touch where you take a bite and can’t quite put your finger on what’s making it taste so good. Just trust me. Tarragon is growing like crazy in my garden right now, so if you need any, just give me a call.

How to make Herby Maryland Crab Cakes

You’ll take the herbs and other ingredients like scallions, celery and Dijon mustard and put them all in one big bowl. The mayonnaise and egg will hold them together with very little filler. Just one cup of bread crumbs in the entire recipe will yield anywhere from 16-20 crab cakes, depending on size. Form them wet hands and pan fry them. Could you bake them? Probably. But I didn’t try, so I can’t put my seal on the baking method. I will try and update this post accordingly. For now, I can tell you that pan frying yields a golden crispy outside and a super tender inside that makes you want to go back for seconds and thirds.

Serve these Herby Maryland Crab Cakes as an appetizer, an accompaniment to steak, or a main course along with a crisp salad and potatoes. Be sure to have lots of cocktail and tartar sauces on the table, and lots of lemon wedges for squeezing. They make a really elegant summer meal. Enjoy!

Herby Maryland Crab Cakes

Easy and elegant crab cakes made with fresh herbs and lemon with minimal fillers for lots of fresh crab flavor

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 18 crab cakes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lbs. lump crab meat
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon minced
• 3 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 2 Tbsp. scallions diced
• Canola oil for frying

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients except for the crab meat in a large bowl. Gently fold in the crab meat, being careful not to break it up too much. Wet your hands and form the mixture into cakes the size of hockey pucks.
• Heat about 1 inch of canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop the crab cakes into the oil and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side, until both sides are a golden brown color. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined platter. Serve with additional parsley and lemon wedges.

Keyword appetizers, dinner, easy

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