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Molly's Medal Winning Maryland Crab Cakes with Mango Pineapple Salsa on a White Plate
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Molly's Medal Winning Maryland Crab Cakes

Maryland Blue Crab is famous for its rich salty-sweet flavor and is often compared to lobster meat. The brackish water of the Chesapeake Bay provides an ideal habitat for the species and contributes to the qualities that set the meat apart from other blue crabs.
A traditional Maryland Crab Cake is made from jumbo lump, lump, or backfin meat. The classic recipe uses Old Bay seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, and mustard as essential ingredients. The cake is flash-fried until brown and crispy on the outside and served plain with a side of tartar or cocktail sauce.
I am not a traditionalist. However, I don't veer too far off course with my recipe. I skip the Worcestershire sauce and add minced red pepper and red onion for color, subtle crunch, and flavor. Crushed low-sodium Ritz crackers replace bread crumbs as the binder. Old Bay is swapped out for my aromatic blend of spices. Instead of flash-frying in oil, I gently brown my cakes in clarified butter. This ensures that the cake remains moist and full of flavor. As an alternative to tarter or cocktail sauce, I garnish with a mango pineapple salsa.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer, brunch, dinner, lunch, picnic, Salad, Snack
Cuisine: American, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
Keyword: Chesapeake Bay, Crab, Crab Cake, Maryland Crab Cake
Servings: 4
Cost: $40-$80

Equipment

  • 1 large skillet
  • 2 spatula
  • 2 large bowls
  • 2-3 large sheet pans
  • 1 large open ring cookie cutter, 3 - 4 inch diameter
  • parchement paper
  • 1 large spoon
  • 1 chef knife
  • 1 paring knife or vegetable peeler with potato eye remover
  • 1 spice or coffee grinder
  • food processor or sealable plastic bag and meat mallet

Ingredients

CRAB CAKE

  • 1 lb jumbo or back fin blue crab
  • ½ cup mayonnaise NOT Miracle Whip
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard powder or Dijon
  • 1 cup Ritz or butter crackers, pulverized to a fine crumb Low-sodium
  • 2 tbsp Molly's Kitchen Old Bay Style Seafood Seasoning Substitute: McCormick Old Bay Classic Seafood Seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tbsp finely diced red or sweet onion
  • 2 tbsp finely diced red pepper
  • 2 cup clarified butter or ghee, warm or room temperature

MANGO PINEAPPLE SALSA

  • 2 cups cubed ripe mango
  • 2 cups cubed ripe pineapple
  • 2 red pepper
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves
  • ¼ cup olive or grape seed oil substitute: citrus or fruit flavored oil
  • ¼ cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp sugar optional
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

OLD BAY STYLE SEAFOOD SEASONING _BASIC RECIPE YEILDS 1/4 CUP

  • 2 tsp ground bay leaves (2-3 large dry leaves)
  • 1 tbsp ground celery seed
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground dry yellow mustard
  • 1 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground mace
  • ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
  • ⅛ tsp ground allspice
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves

Instructions

  • SERVING SIZE: For 4-6 people, one pound of crab meat will yield approximately 2 cakes per person.
  • NOTES: Please read the notes provided to ensure the best results.

SET UP

  • Place parchment paper on the sheet pans.
  • Place clarified butter or melted ghee in a bowl deep enough to dunk and coat the sides of the cookie cutter.

MOLLY'S KITCHEN OLD BAY STYLE SEAFOOD SEASONING

  • Add all ingredients together and place into a tightly sealed container when not in use. If needed, use a spice or coffee grinder to break down ingredients that are not purchased pre-ground or powdered. The measurements are approximate and feel free to modify to your taste. I caution against adding salt. I err on the side of less salt than more in all of my recipes.

MANGO PINEAPPLE SALSA

  • Juice the limes. Tip: To extract the most juice, before cutting, press and roll the fruit on a hard surface to break open the pulp. NOTE: I prefer not to use bottled or commercially prepared citrus juice. The flavor tends to be artificial and dense.
  • Wash the cilantro to remove dirt and sand. Remove the leaves and discard the stems.
  • Peel the mangos and remove the flesh from the pit. Cut into ¼-½ inch chunks.
  • Cut the outer skin off the pineapple. Remove the remaining pits or eyes with the sharp tip of a small paring knife or the potato eye remover of a vegetable peeler. Working towards the core, slice off the flesh in large strips and cut into ¼-½ inch chunks.
  • Remove the papery outer skin of the red onion. Cut the onion in half and slice each half into thin strips. Finely dice the strips.
  • Cut the red peppers in half and remove the white pith. Cut the halves into strips, and then into ¼-½ inch pieces.
  • Place the mango, pineapple, red onion, red pepper, oil, lime juice and cilantro into a large bowl. If the fruit is not very sweet, add the sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. Let marinate for at least one hour at room temperature before serving. If you have made the salsa several hours ahead and have placed in the the fridge, bring to room temperature before serving with the warm crab cakes.
    NOTE: I like to use a neutral flavored oil as the base of the marinade. EVOO tends to have a dominant nuttier flavor, but if that's all you have, use it! Better yet, it you have a citrus or fruit flavored olive oil, it will enhance the flavor of the salsa.

PREPARE THE CRAB MEAT

  • Place crab meat, diced red onion and diced red pepper into large bowl.
  • Add ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 1 tsp. mustard, 2 tsp. seafood seasoning, ½ cup Ritz cracker crumbs. Lightly toss and assess taste. Increase the amount of mayo, mustard, cracker crumbs and seasoning as you see fit. Reminder: the spices should not overwhelm the meat. You want the seasoning to be present but not dominant. You can always sprinkle more just before serving.
  • Add beaten egg and toss lightly. Let the prepared crab meat sit for 10-15 minutes to allow time for the cracker crumbs to moisten and bind the meat.

SHAPING THE CAKES

  • Dunk the cookie cutter into the clarified butter and place onto the parchment paper. Using a large spoon, gently add some prepared crab meat into the ring. Lightly press the meat to fill the ring to the edges and about 1 inch high. Remove the ring. Repeat until all the meat has been used.
  • Place saran wrap over the sheet pan(s) and secure tightly. Place into the fridge for at least an hour. It's best to let the cakes chill longer.

COOKING THE CRAB CAKES

  • Preheat the oven to a low warming temperature of 200° - 250° F.
  • Put enough clarified butter or ghee into the skillet to have about ¼ to ½ inch of butter. Over a LOW heat, bring the butter to a high enough temperature to "fry" the crab cakes. I use the term "fry" loosely here. I don't mean to deep fry. What you want to achieve is browning the cakes to form a buttery crust. Test the temperature of the oil by tossing in a small bit of meat or cut vegetable. It should sizzle and brown, not fry and burn.
  • Using a large spatula, lift a chilled cake off of the parchment paper. Using the other large spatula, gently push the cake into the skillet. Add as many cakes as will allow for at least one inch spacing between and around the cakes. Leave some space from the edge of the skillet. You will need to manipulate the spatulas around the cakes and need enough room to turn them without breaking them up.
  • Once the cakes look brown on the bottom, start to to flip them to the other side. Slip one spatula under a cake. Place the other spatula in a position on the uncooked side of the cake to accept it as you flip the cake onto it. Gently ease the cake back into the hot butter using the free spatula to push the cake off. Use this method for the remaining cakes. If you would like to recook the other side, just repeat the the flip method until all the cakes are browned and have developed a lovely crust.
  • Use the spatula to remove the cakes from the skillet. Place the cooked cakes onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment and place into the warm oven until ready to serve. Sprinkle cakes with more seafood seasoning if desired.

Notes

HOMEMADE SEAFOOD SEASONING: Make this ahead of time.  Double or quadruple the recipe to have plenty on hand for future use.  Old Bay Classic Seafood Seasoning made by McCormick is heavy on the salt. If you substitute this for my Old Bay Style Seafood Seasoning which does not contain salt, I strongly urge you to not add additional salt to the crab meat. My seasoning recipe adds interest and fragrance. It should be a subtle presence and not overwhelm the meat.
This seasoning can be expensive to make from scratch, especially if you are new to cooking and don't have a well-stocked pantry. For example, cardamom is very pricey and not a spice often used unless you do a lot of Indian cuisines. If you do not have all the spices on hand, don't worry. However, once you invest in these ingredients, you will have great flexibility in all your recipe adventures. Most novice chefs love to bake and have on hand cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Mace is another part of the nutmeg and a repeat of the flavor profile. Cardamom adds another layer of aroma but is not essential to the overall blend. Don't skimp on the celery seed and bay leaves as those are what make the base flavor of the seasoning. Paprika adds color.  
MANGO PINEAPPLE SALSA: Make this at least one hour ahead for the flavors to marry from the lime juice marinade.  To make things easy, purchase pre-cut fruit if available in your local market.  Canned pineapple can be substituted.  Add the juice to the marinade!  A ripe mango should feel soft to the touch but not to the point of mush. Any variety will do. You will need approximately 6 - 8. If the mango is not sweet, that's ok. The lime juice marinade and pineapple will balance the flavor. However, if the fruit is tart and sour, discard it. A ripe pineapple will appear more yellow than green up the sides toward the top. The bottom should emit a strong pineapple smell and not be brown or overly soft. The fruit should be sweet and not tart or sour.   
SALSA REPLACEMENT: If you can't find suitable fruit, substitute the salsa with a simple lightly dressed salad. I suggest using butter lettuce or tender spring mix and a dressing of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper, and extra virgin olive oil or a honey mustard vinaigrette.  Cucumber or orange segments will provide some crunch and flavor.
MAYO: I prefer classic egg-based mayonnaise such as Hellman's or Best Foods. Miracle Whip, a common mayo substitute, has less oil and contains sugar and some spices. It is better used in a coleslaw type of recipe.
PREPARING THE CRAB MEAT:  Add ingredients in increments and taste as you go along. Lightly toss to combine. Over-tossing will break up the meat. The key is to add just enough mayonnaise and bread crumbs to make the meat hold together. Add salt to taste. Add the egg last. Egg helps the cakes to maintain shape when cooking. Refrigerating the cakes until chilled through really makes a difference in how they hold their shape while cooking.
CRACKER CRUMBS:  Use a food processor to break down the crackers into a fine crumb.  Alternately, place crackers into a sealed plastic bag and use a meat mallet or other hard object to crush the crackers.
COOKIE CUTTER: If you don't have a ring cookie cutter, don't despair. Crab cakes can be molded by hand into any shape you like. I like to use the cookie-cutter method for presentation value. The chilled flat cakes are easy to flip and heat through evenly when slowly nudged toward browning in the clarified butter.  A half-cup measuring cup will work if it is not too deep. 
SKILLET: An iron or heavyweight skillet is the best to use. The heat will be evenly distributed and there is less chance of burning the cakes.  Make sure the base of the skillet is directly over the heat source.  Otherwise, you'll have cakes browning faster in the middle with the cakes on the side waiting to catch up.