Put That Fresh Florida Seafood To Good Use This Summer

Blue crab is in peak season right now, so there’s no better time to take advantage of its abundance with a delicious crab cake recipe. If you like crab cakes that have very little filling so that the flavor and texture of the crab really shine, then this is the perfect recipe for you! Let’s dig in.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
• 2 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp. (pinch) salt
• 1 pound fresh lump crab meat
• 2/3 cup Saltine cracker crumbs
• 2 tsp melted butter – salted or unsalted to taste

Method

You’ll start by whisking the egg, mayo, parsley, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lemon juice, and salt together in a large bowl. Next, add the lump crab then the cracker crumbs, and gently fold the mixture with a rubber spatula until it’s just combined so that the crab meat doesn’t break up. Let the mix rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes but up to 24 hours, covered tightly with plastic wrap.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to  450°F and prepare a half sheet pan with cooking spray and parchment paper or a non-stick silicone baking mat. Once the crab cake mixture has rested, use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to portion the mix into six cakes on the baking sheet, but do not flatten them. Instead, use your hands to gently compact and shape the cakes so that there isn’t any crab sticking out. Brush each cake with melted butter and bake for 12 – 14 minutes until lightly browned on the edges and the top.

Serve the cakes fresh from the oven with lemon juice and/or remoulade and enjoy!

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Prep Ahead

If you want to really take advantage of the peak Blue Crab season, you can make extra crab cakes and freeze them for up to three months. If you freeze unbaked portions, thaw the cakes in the refrigerator, brush with butter, and bake as normal. If you freeze baked cakes, thaw them in the refrigerator then bake at 350°F until they are warm throughout (about 10 – 15 minutes), or bake them straight from the freezer at 350°F for 25 – 30 minutes. Considering that Blue Crab season runs through October, you could potentially enjoy fresh crab cakes all the way through January, leaving just a few short months until the peak season begins again in May.