If you ever talk to the born and bred of either Baltimore or Maryland, then you will probably be shot out of the water for making crab cakes the wrong way. Of course, crab cakes vary in technique from state to state and region to region. Many may be great, but a lot fall short of delivering that delicate sweetness of crab meat, being overshadowed by too many fillers. If you are going to make or order crab cakes in a restaurant, don't you want to taste - well, crab?

This recipe is inspired by the traditional Baltimore crab cakes which do not contain a list of fillers. They are chock full of pure lump crab meat with only a little binder and flavoring and people swarm around the kitchen when I make these – and, they are gone in a flash! My recipe for Unadulterated Lump Crab Cakes use two containers of lump crab meat (Chicken of the Sea brand), because one just isn't enough.

However, as lump crab is pretty pricey, you can use a 1 lb. tub and scale down the other ingredients to 1 tbsp. measurements and 1/3 cup mayo, 1 egg and 1 tsp. (or more if you like) of hot sauce. The crackers you can reduce to about 10 – 12. The oil for this recipe isn't a lot - it only needs to be approximately 1/4 inch deep in the pan - we are not deep-frying.

One pound of lump crab meat will produce approximately six 1/3 cup cakes - or if you are having a small party, make these into mini crab cakes and serve with a remoulade, tartar sauce or cocktail sauce.

Tip- Do not over mix the ingredients - this is a quick and gentle procedure.


Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. Sriracha sauce (hot sauce)
2 - 1 lb. containers of fresh lump crab meat
1/4 cup green onions, light & dark parts, sliced very thin
18 Town House crackers (or other) finely ground
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil, divided into 1/4 cups
2 lemons cut into wedges

Method

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, eggs, mustard and hot sauce until well combined and smooth. In a larger bowl, gently mix the breadcrumbs, scallions and crab meat together. Add the mayo mixture and fold in gently. Let this rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour or more.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet and portion the crab cakes into mounds using a 1/3 cup measure. Test one cake in the oil first to make sure the heat is not too high and fry until golden or dark brown, approximately 3 - 4 minutes per side. Do not flatten the crab cakes in the pan - just let them do their thing.

Makes 12 crab cakes.