Emily Meggett’s Crab Cakes
Updated Oct. 16, 2023
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:About 12 large crab cakes
- 10slices soft white or whole-wheat bread
- ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter
- 1large onion, grated
- ¼cup/30 grams self-rising flour (see Tip)
- 1½cups/355 milliliters whole or 2-percent milk
- 2large eggs, beaten
- 1teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- ¼teaspoon ground mace
- 2pounds/907 grams lump crab meat, drained if needed
- ½cup/120 milliliters vegetable oil, plus more as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
324 calories; 20 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 604 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat the broiler to 500 degrees (or its highest setting). On your oven’s highest rack, broil all the bread slices on a baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden and crisp but not burned. Flip all the slices over and broil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the broiler off and allow the bread to crisp in the oven until totally dry, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 2
Remove the bread from the oven and let cool. Using a box grater or rolling pin, coarsely grate and crush the bread slices into bread crumbs (or, pulse them in a food processor). The crumbs should look and feel like sand; you should get about 4 cups. Set the bread crumbs aside.
- Step 3
In a large cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Pour the butter and onion into a large bowl. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and onion, then slowly whisk in the milk to make a creamy sauce. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, vinegar and mace.
- Step 5
Add the crab meat to the cream sauce and mix lightly with a fork; don’t break up the pieces of crab meat. Gently fold in just enough of the bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together (about 2½ cups). Divide the crab mixture into 12 equal portions, setting them on a baking sheet as you go. They should be thick rounds — about the size of the palm of your hand, and roughly 1½ inches thick.
- Step 6
Using your hand, take a scoop of the toasted bread crumbs and coat each crab cake.
- Step 7
Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over high. Once the oil is hot, place a few of the crab cakes in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Place the cooked crab cakes on a paper towel to drain. Working in batches, cook the remaining crab cakes, adding more oil as needed.
- Step 8
Serve crab cakes immediately, or set aside in a warm oven (see Tip) while you cook the remaining crab cakes.
Tips
- If you don’t have self-rising flour, substitute ¼ cup all-purpose flour mixed with ¼ teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt.
- To keep the crab cakes warm after cooking, heat the oven to 175 degrees (the warm setting). Place the crab cakes on a large baking sheet lined with a piece of foil and place them in the oven. At this temperature, the oven will keep them warm without drying them out.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Jacqueline
In Maryland, FAMOUS for crabcakes, we gently mix 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat, 1 egg, 1/3 cup mayo, 1 tea each worcesteshire sauce & dried mustard, 5 crushed saltines. Form into patties and either broil or pan fry. The best!!! Will try Emily's.
Harriet
I LOVE crab cakes. I really want to cook these, but with every crab cake recipe I've tried (and I've tried many) the cake falls apart when you try to flip it. I've tried chilling it, cooking immediately, different levels of courseness in the bread crumbs. I don't want to keep spending money on lump crab unless I can crack this problem. Any suggestions?
Debbie
Wait! I'm from Maryland too. How do you leave out the Old Bay?
Ahegney
@Harriet - pro tip: when you first flip something, remember that the top surface is still cool, so place the flat of your 4 fingers over the crab cake and use your hand to support it as you flip it over GENTLY so you don’t splash up the hot oil. I promise you will not burn yourself!
WendyP
This recipe is not purported to be a Maryland style crabcake. It's just a recipe for crabcakes indiginous to Edisto Island area. Let it be. Make it, or don't. I find the same issue with a southern favorite, pimento cheese. I like it the way my mother made it over 60 years ago. Are there other versions that are good? Of course. And that doesn't mean other versions are WRONG, they are just different from what I like. Jacqueline has it right--she's willing to give this a try.
Robert
You can also make these with salmon if you can't find good crab. I bake the salmon in the oven until it's on the rare side. Definitely refrigerate the crab cakes - I often refrigerate them for several hours. I have my own recipe (who doesn't) but I will try this as it looks very interesting. Another tip - place a piece of plastic wrap on a scale, spoon the crab cake mixture on it to the desired weight (I do 4 oz), and wrap it tightly. After refrigerating, compress and form. No mess this way.
Jerry
The price of jumbo lump has to be astronomical right now. I sometimes substitute leg meat from the same crab. It is darker in color, half the price and tastier, IMHO.
beachfoodie
WAY too much bread. I use ½ cup per pound of crab.
rhbphoto
This recipe is somewhat like a roux-based (creamy) style crab cake. The baking powder gives a bit of lift. In a very old, original Old Bay recipe for a Maryland-style crab cake (from the back of a tin), they included adding baking powder. Unfortunately, per the recipe, two pounds of lump crab meat will set you back a week's salary.
Jeff
One word (or is it two?): AirFryer! 375 degrees. Spray basket with oil, then the tops of the cakes. Cook for 5 minutes or until browned. Flip, spray again and cook for another 5 minutes. So light and crispy!
Mike
This recipe is more like a fritter than a true crab cake. Way too much bread and never a bechamel in crab cakes. Good if you’re economizing, but I’d use claw meat in this recipe, rather than waste lump crabmeat
Terence
Where do you get the crab meat? My market only has imitation crab meat.
Nat
I am a connoisseur of EATING crab cakes and really wanted to get into making them! I use a much simpler recipe that I love, more Baltimore style than southern. One thing you could try with this is making the cakes smaller, you could half this recipe to try it out first, 1lb crab etc..I think it should not be too wet, I do let it chill an hour. Use 1/3 cup to shape the cake into the smaller ball/slider. Then good brown on one side they flip easily with a nice thin spatula. So yum, don't give up!
Liz
Lump crab meat is *not* necessary for crab cakes in which is it broken up and mixed with other ingredients. Any crab meat can be used, except imitation. I grew up on the Gulf Coast and we made stuffed crabs - crab cake stuffed into cleaned crab shells - frequently. I will try these and likely use considerably less bread because 5 slices per pound will yeild crab flavored bread cakes.
leslie
Crab lovers crab cake uses FEW INGREDIENTS! Jumbo lump, minimum amt. of unseasoned bread crumbs not panko, minimum mayo, one beaten egg per pound, Old Bay seasoning to taste (I use just a smidge). The point of mayo/crumbs/beaten egg is to hold together and keep moist. Mold in the palm of your hands, 1/4-1/3 of the total depending on size you want each. Place on a very slightly spray oiled baking sheet. Broil until browned. Serve with melted butter/lemon, parsley, cracked pepper.
Harriette
Best crab cake recipe I've come across. I use store bought bread crumbs as it saves a lot of time and mess.
Phyllis Hunter
A restaurant trick taught to me by my son, the chef, is to chill the crabcakes uncovered for 90 minutes to all day, to keep them from falling apart. It works great everytime.
Emile Victor
There is an alternative to the bread crumbs, eggs and mayo as a binder. Puree some fresh baby shrimp and mix with the lump meat and whatever flavor mix you use. I like classic trinity, finely chopped and with the moisture slow cooked away plus Old Bay. A little panko on the surface just before cooking is nice.
nancy
Can these be made and frozen? Would you thaw to cook or cook from frozen?
Marianne
I'm from Md. and I press the chilled, slightly firm crabcakes into panko, then refrigerate them again until they firm up. I use a bit of oil to saute them. When slightly brown, I am able to turn them.
Margo
My recipe is very like Jacqueline's but I use the meat from Alaska snow crab (a lot of picking but so more affordable right now) and panko instead of saltines. Never thought of mace-will try it!
h
Love crab cakes, make them often (live in northern Virginia). This recipe is fine, but the timing is way off. Crab cakes need to sit in the fridge for at least an hour to “set” before being either sautéed or baked or, yes, they will fall apart.
ERM
A tip: to avoid flipping the crab cakes, use a cast iron or other broiler-proof pan; have the broiler heating while you fry the bottoms; when they're done, transfer the pan to the broiler to brown the tops.
Tom
Is this a bread sandwich? Toss the bread a sub with a dozen saltines.
Karen A
If you're unsuccessful finding the crab at a conventional grocery store, see if you have an Asian Market nearby. The one here even has live crabs, live Tilapia, and giant live frogs. I wanted to rescue the one staring at me. lol Ours in an amazing place to shop and things like spices are so much cheaper with more varieties there. It's where I first tried and fell in love with the sadly seasonal dried persimmons;)
Eileen
I form the cakes and put them on a wax paper covered plate and refrigerate them for about an hour before frying. It really helps the cakes stay together when they hit the frying pan.
kurt
Flour is an amusing addition.
Donald
I have found the exclusive use of lump crabmeat makes it difficult to stay in one patty without falling apart. I mix 1 part lump with 1 part backfin crab meat, which holds the crabcake together. Then add eggs mayo, crumbs, condiments and let sit long enough for it all to come together a bit (30-40 minutes).
griffin
These crab cakes look absolutely scrumptious. The trick is in the frying, to get them to that nice crispy golden brown color! And remember not to break up the lumps when mixing the crabmeat. I serve this with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Griffin
winelady
I agree with both Marylanders about the ingredients (you can also use a pinch of cayenne instead of Old Bay), but want to add one important caveat: mix all the ingredients except the crab first, then as gently as you can, fold in the crabmeat to preserve those gorgeous lumps that you paid so much for!
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