Home » Recipe Type » Appetizers » Maryland Crab Cakes
5 from 2 reviews
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My only goal for my week in Virginia Beach was to eat a good crabcake. Thanks to Dockside, I did. Broiled, lightly seasoned, meaty, the Dockside crabcake embodies everything I hope for in a crabcake.
Finding myself dreaming about this delicacy upon returning home, I called Dockside to find out the details, which they so graciously offered: crabmeat, mayonnaise, panko bread crumbs and Old Bay seasoning. They keep it pretty simple, which came as no surprise. Had they told me they used nothing but crabmeat, I wouldn’t have questioned them.
Recreating the Dockside crab cake was surprisingly easy. Because the cakes are broiled — as opposed to pan fried, which (and sorry for stating the obvious) involves flipping — the cakes can (and should) be delicately and loosely formed. In fact, if your cakes are almost falling apart as you’re placing them on your broiling pan, it’s probably a good sign. A nearly falling-apart crab cake will ensure that the mayonnaise and panko (or pulverized Saltines or bread crumbs or whatever you are using) are doing their job as binders but nothing more.
These cakes broiled for five minutes and disappeared in two. They were delicious.
Final note, crabmeat is expensive. Like, pit-in-your-stomach expensive. Like, oh-sh*t expensive. Like, how-can-I-rationalize-this-purchase expensive. But, it’s worth it. A good crab cake starts with good crab. The rest is simple.
Maryland Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
5 from 2 reviews
- Author: Alexandra
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 to 3
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Description
This crab cake recipe is inspired by the crab cakes served at Dockside in Virginia Beach. Dockside uses Old Bay seasoning in their crab cakes, but I could barely taste it and because I’m not a huge fan of it anyway, I just omitted it. If you like Old Bay, go for it, but don’t over do it — the crabmeat is so tasty on its own.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. jumbo lump or backfin crabmeat
- kosher salt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade with tarragon
- 6 tablespoons (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) panko bread crumbs
- squeeze of lemon (less than half of a lemon, so maybe a teaspoon)
- a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped tarragon, parsley or chives, for mixing with the mayo
- melted butter, for brushing
- lemon wedges, for serving
- tartar sauce (recipe below), for serving, optionalfor the Tartar Sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade with tarragon
- 8 cornichons, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 small shallot, minced
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Place crabmeat in a large mixing bowl. Being careful not to break up the lumps too much, spread out the crabmeat into a single layer in the bowl. Season lightly with salt. Add the mayonnaise, panko, lemon juice and herb (if using). Gently fold all of the ingredients together using your hands or a spatula. The mixture should barely hold together when formed into a cake.
- Preheat the broiler. (Rack should be about 4 inches from the heat source.) Lightly grease a sheet pan with butter. (Note: Before doing this, take a look at your broiler and make a visual note about where the burning elements will line up with your pan. For instance, I have two coils in my broiler, so when I greased my sheet pan with butter, I greased only the parts where I was planning on placing the crab cakes, which would eventually line up with the two heating elements in the broiler. Hope that makes sense.)
- Portion your crab mixture into 8 cakes. I use my 1/4 cup measuring cup as a portioner and my hands to gently form the cakes. Place cakes on sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
- Brush each cake with melter butter. Broil five minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce on the side if desired.
- Make the tartar sauce: Place all ingredients in a bowl. Stir. Taste. Adjust accordingly.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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bellini —Reply
These are my future son-in-laws favourite. I would love to try this version.
Sophie —Reply
This recipe kind of made me do a faceplant — so simple! Why add all that other stuff? Let the crab shine. Golly, your descriptions and photos are wonderful, as always. I’m dying to eat these!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked —Reply
You’ve been featuring all my favourite foods lately – I love crab cakes! Yours look much better than the ones typically served in restaurants – they’re simple, bursting with crab, allowing the natural sweet flavours to shine through. Yum! Your photos are fantastic as always.
MaryBeth —Reply
My Mom loves crab cakes. I’ll have to make these for her. Thanks!
Suzanne JohnsonPeggy Suzanne Johnson —Reply
Oh my… Those look wonderful and so easy! Crabcakes, salad with some chewy french bread…. Dinner’s ready!
Javelin Warrior —Reply
I love dropping by to drool over your latest creations and today I’m featuring this post in Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and it’s always a pleasure following you…
alexandracooks —Reply
JW — of course, thanks so much!
ileana —Reply
Wow, these look fantastic!
janie —Reply
I love crabcakes-used to live in Maryland. I’ve never had them broiled and will give this a go. Thanks!
Shut Up & Cook —Reply
Just stumbled upon your blog (at the suggestion of one of the readers from my blog) and with the first recipe being crab cakes I am instantly in love!
Trader Joes and Costco both surprisingly have good crab meat that is the lump kind, but doesn’t break the bank.
Excited to try your recipe!
alexandracooks —Reply
Shut Up & Cook — I have heard very good things about the Costco crabmeat. And oh how I miss having a Trader Joe’s nearby. The closest is about 45 min from me. Thanks so much for writing in with the tips!
Alicia (foodycat) —Reply
These look sublime. I don’t think you can get lump crabmeat in the UK – I’ve certainly never seen it! All the crabmeat we can get is much finer shreds.
Meg —Reply
I’ve never tried crab cakes before… they look and sound delicious, though. I’m from a land-locked city myself and crab is gasp-worthily expensive!
Oh, and your photographs are amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Tammy Ruggiano —Reply
i have made these before and they are better then some restuarants. Most places, their crab cakes have more filler and hardly any crab in it. I like to see the big pieces of lump crab. Great for football parties!!!!!! thanks
debbie —Reply
Thank you!! These turned out great i did add some stuff tho, wortcestershire, old bay & djon mustard !!! Delicoius, thank you 🙂
alexandracooks —Reply
Debbbie — So happy to hear this! I am sure those additions were quite tasty!
Sue - Unique Stylish Purses —Reply
Oh thank you, thank you for posting this. I LOVE crab cakes and can’t wait to try this!
Missy —Reply
Thank you! Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, with two crab-centric cities playing each other. I’ve been searching for a great recipe for broiled crab cakes and yours is perfect! Thank you!
Go Niners!alexandracooks —Reply
Nice! I love it! Can’t believe I didn’t think about serving crab cakes tonight… but I still have time to get to the store. Might just have to make that happen!
Vicki Josue —Reply
I just made these and I eat at Dockside all the time….. these are better…perfect recipe best crab cake I’ve ever had or made. There’s a resturant in the outer Banks I’d like to have their crab dip recipe I asked they won’t give it to me —-maybe could you try sounds like your persistant. Thanks for the recipe…
alexandracooks —Reply
Vicki — I’m so happy to hear this! I can’t wait to get out to Virginia Beach this summer again. I miss seafood. And what is the name of the restaurant? I’d be happy to give them a ring!
Vicki Josue —Reply
It’s Basnight’s Lone Cedar Resturant it’s on the Outer Banks and has some great seafood but the crab dip is to die for !!
alexandracooks —Reply
Vicki — OK, now I’m intrigued. I’m ready to do some sleuthing!
Vicki Josue —Reply
Alright I’ll be waiting lol! Good luck!
Sophie —Reply
I made these for the second time this weekend, Alexandra! So killer good! I bought my crab at Trader Joe’s for an incredibly reasonable price ($8 for a 1-pound can, and some pretty good-sized chunks in there). I actually bought two cans this time because I was feeding 6 people, but I didn’t expect everyone to only eat one or two cakes each. Because I eat like five at a time, personally! 🙂 The first time I made them I thought the panko was just a bit too crunchy, if that is possible, so this time I crushed Ritz crackers insetad, and let them sit a bit in the mixture to soften. Everything else is sublimely wonderful about these cakes! So simple and delicious.
I even made my own mayonnaise – my first time! I was a little nervous, but your instructions were perfect. The only thing I would do differently next time is to not use olive oil, which I thought made the mayonnaise a little bitter. I will use the more neutral oils next time as you suggested. Thanks for making me look good on another family occasion 😉
Julie —Reply
I love tarragon! These are the best crab cakes ever. I’m making them right now for Christmas Eve dinner. Thank you!
alexandra —Reply
So happy to hear this, Julie!
Susan —Reply
Sorry – but crab meat without Old Bay? That’s like a beautiful day without sunshine (hard to imagine). Never for a Maryland native…..
alexandra —Reply
Susan! It’s so good to hear from you! I have to admit, I’m not the biggest Old Bay fan … the horror! I’m sorry. I should rename the recipe 🙂
Theresa —Reply
Ive be=n making these all of my life. One thing to remember is 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard to bring out the tang, also do not use any other crab meat except blue crab from the Eastern seaboard of the US. Any Indonesian or Asian crab meat is not the same. it may be blue swimming crab but it’s from warm water.
alexandra —Reply
Very interesting to know this about other crab meats. Thanks for the tips, too, on egg and mustard. Yum!
Sharon H —Reply
I’ve made these several times over the years and love love love them. What I would like to know is can I make these in mini muffin pans for Christmas appetizers? I hope so:)
alexandra —Reply
Absolutely! That is a lovely idea!
Tom —Reply
These are Virginia Crab Cakes…..
Paul Brown —Reply
Second time I have tried this dish – absolutely delicious! Thanks ever so much for this.
