You do not even know how long I've been waiting to make these...and therefore post them. It's not exactly a penny pinching meal, but even Pennies on a Platter is allowed to splurge once in a while. 🙂
Every Christmas dinner at my in-law's involves Mama G's crab cakes. And, if you haven't figured it out yet, Mama G is my sweet mother-in-law. She has perfected her recipe and shared it with me this last Christmas.
I couldn't wait to make them! But, I knew I needed to wait for a special occasion since the crab meat is so expensive! This was our Valentine's dinner.
It's worth the wait to save up your money. The crab meat I bought from Whole Foods was $30 a pound. You can not must not use imitation crab or some cheap type of crab meat for these. And, if you do, I don't want to hear you whining about how gross they turned out! blek!
One way I was able to cut the cost is I cut the recipe in half and used only one pound instead of two. Mama G's recipe makes around 8-9 huge cakes because she's got the whole family to feed. One per person is filling enough at the size she makes them! There were only the two of us this time so I didn't need that many. I made 6 cakes...but didn't make them as big as Mama G, although they weren't that small either.
This recipe is perfection because the amount of spice is subtle enough to not overpower the meat, yet strong enough to be evident. Best of all, the amount of meat is each cake is outstanding!
I was a little nervous about making these here in Chicago-land. My in-laws live in on the coast in Maryland, so they have access to the freshest crab meat. So, I made sure I bought the meat from Whole Foods (plus, I had a gift card..bonus!). They turned out just the same as we had at Christmas! We were very pleased!
Not only do we love this crab cakes recipe for its taste, but also for the nostalgic flavor that comes along with it. We could have just closed our eyes, taken a bite, and felt like we were sitting at the big round glass table on the coast of Maryland.
Thank you, Mama G!
Mama G's Maryland Crab Cakes
2 lbs lump crab meat (You can use 1 lb jumbo or all jumbo)
½ stack crackers (Like Ritz, or any table crackers. You can get creative here and use stale bread or even seasoned crackers.)
2 eggs
½ C mayo
several drops Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or stone ground)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
dash pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (plus more for sprinkling)
Clean meat. Even the cleanest crab needs picking through to remove shells and some "yucky" stuff. Crush the crackers in a food processor. Toss the crab and crackers in a large bowl; set aside.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a smaller bowl. Pour mixture into crab and mix gently.
With a large spoon, drop and shape mounds onto a cookie sheet or baking pan. (Mama G and I use our baking stones.) Slightly press them. You can make the cakes as big or small as you want...but may need to adjust the time of baking. Sprinkle more Old Bay seasoning on top.
Broil on "low" for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly. If you have big crabcakes, you may need a few more minutes, in which case, open the oven door halfway and continue broiling for about 5 more minutes. Just keep your eye on it.
