Crab Cakes

I hate coming up with clever titles for blog posts, but I think the words "crab cakes" can stand on its own...just typing the word makes me want to drool on my keyboard. The recipe I used came from the recipe booklet sold on Tangier Island to raise money for the school. I think the PTA sells them. Anyway...here's the recipe:


1 lb crab meat
1 beaten egg
2 slices white bread
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 tbsp mayonnaise

You first remove the crust from the white bread and tear it into small pieces and add it to the beaten egg so it soaks up some of the egg. Then add everything else except the crab meat. Once the egg/bread mixture is combined, add the crab meat, and shape into patties. One pound of crab meat should yield 4 large patties or lots of mini ones.

If you don't plan on eating all of the crab cakes right away, you can freeze the extras by wrapping them individually in waxed paper, then foil. I formed five patties from this pound of meat and froze the other two patties. I also hate admitting this, but this particular pound of crab meat was only okay. I've gotten used to blue crabs steamed with the guts removed prior to steaming (that's how they do it on Tangier), and you can definitely taste the difference between steamed crabs with guts and steamed crabs without guts. The meat tastes sweeter and purer with the guts removed prior to steaming. This particular pound of meat had bits of guts AND a few rogue bits of shell...not ideal.

Here's an overexposed shot of the final product:

Given this particular pound of crab meat's faults, they still tasted good.