Monday Foodie: Maryland Crab Cakes

My husband and I moved to Maryland early in our marriage. He had obtained a research job at a Delaware hospital and I just finished my child health – pediatric nurse practitioner degree and was working at the esteemed Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. It was 1990.

We enjoyed living outside one of the major metropolitan areas in the northeast. One of the things we especially enjoyed was the food. I was introduced to some of the finest Jewish delis and their two and a half inch high reuben sandwiches by one of the most esteemed pediatricians of the 20th century. He also treated us to lunch at a famed Spanish restaurant complete with Crème Brûlée when he went “off service” after a month of grilling us and the medical residents as our attending physician.

My experience at Hopkins and our time living outside of Baltimore is one of the favorite times in my life. One of the greatest pleasures was going to markets and eating fresh seafood such as Blue Crab. Blue Crab is a local food, caught in the Chesapeake Bay and eaten in any number of ways. We tried most of them (I think). But, the one we enjoyed the most was crab cakes.

Luckily, the Sam’s Club near us offers lump blue crab meat that is pasteurized and sold by the pound. It takes one pound of crab meat and only a few other ingredients to make six one-inch-thick Maryland Crab Cakes. The recipe I use is also from a Maryland publication. The crab cakes are delicious and we have them about twice a year. We had them yesterday for the first time this year and they were every bit as yummy as we remembered!

Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks in making crab cakes. A new trick is that after the cakes are formed, you want to let them sit in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. This allows them to stick together better when frying. We typically pan fry our crab cakes but I think next time we are going to try deep frying them, just for a change. There certainly wasn’t anything wrong with the way they turned out – absolutely, delicious!

Once the two bowls have been combine thoroughly, you are ready to make the cakes. You will find the easiest way to mix the crab meat and bread crumb (filler-binder) mixture is to use your hands. This recipe makes six good sized crab cakes. Two would be a single serving for dinner. One would make a nice lunch.

We’ve found that regional cuisine is fun to try and fun to mix up the meal ruts we all find ourselves in on occasion. What are some of your favorite meals from where you live now or in the past? Let me know in the comments!

Ciao!