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These crab cakes are crispy on the outside and moist on the inside with just enough panko crumbs to old them together. The crab meat, Old Bay seasoning and spicy brown mustard shine through in this recipe.
In August of 1995, during a trip to Rehoboth Beach, I fell in love with the crab cakes at Jake’s Seafood House. Sadly they closed the doors on their last restaurant in September of 2020. Their crab cakes were outstanding. They had very little filler in them so the crab meat was the true star of the dish. You could definitely taste the Old Bay seasoning and there was a subtle twang to the cake. Due to the tinge of yellow color to the cakes, when I started to work on a recipe that had a similar taste, I focused on Dijon and spicy mustards as an addition.
This recipe is very close, in my opinion, to Jake’s Seafood House crab cakes. It’s a favorite of mine, my family and neighbors. This is my homage to Jake’s Seafood House.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- Lump crab meat
- Panko bread crumbs or homemade crumbs
- Old Bay seasoning
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Light Miracle Whip or Mayo
- Gulden’s brown spicy mustard or Dijon
- Olive oil
Making the Crab Cakes
- I used Philip’s canned crab meat from Costco. Regardless of your source or brand, open and drain the crab meat. Place it in a mixing bowl and pick through it with a fork to remove any pieces of shell that may remain.
- Add the bread crumbs to the crab meat. Use a fork to toss it together until the crumbs are evenly distributed through out the crab meat.
- Add the Old Bay seasoning to the mixture and toss to mix it in. The crab should be pasteurized so taste it. Add more Old Bay seasoning if you think it is needed. The Old Bay is on the salty side and has some heat to it so I typically do not add salt or pepper but you may prefer to add some.
- Add the brown mustard and light Miracle Whip to the mixture and mix it.
- Once the crab cake mixture is fully mixed together, I pack in down into the bowl and flatten it. I use a fork to portion it into four large crab cakes.
- Take each portion of the crab mixture and form it into a cake. I normally cook two and refrigerate the other two for the next night’s dinner. We like big crab cakes but you can easily get 5 – 6 nice size crab cakes out of the recipe.
- Place the olive oil in a skillet and heat it up. I use a silicon barbecue brush to move the oil around and over the surface of the skillet. Place the crab cakes in the skillet and sauté. Gently lift the edge with a spatula and check for brownness. When the bottom side is brown, flip the cakes over and brown the other side.
- Remove from the skillet when done. Serve with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce or a wedge of lemon and enjoy.
Serving Ideas
- Crab cakes have become the center of our Christmas eve dinner. They are also our favorites for birthday and anniversary celebrations.
- They pair well with baked or roasted potatoes, most veggie dishes, a side green salad and of course, coleslaw.
- Often, I will top an entrée size salad with a crab cake and add a dinner roll.
- Instead of full size crab cakes, you can make mini cakes and serve them as an appetizer or place them on a holiday or dinner party buffet.
WW 2 pt per crab cake, 8 pt for entire recipe
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 152.6kcal
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- measuring spoons and cups
- skillet
- spatula
- silicon barbecue brush
Ingredients
- 1 lb Philip lump crab meat
- ½ c panko bread crumbs (see note)
- 1¼ tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 3 tbsp light Miracle Whip
- 2 tbsp Gulden's spicy brown mustard or Dijon
- salt and pepper to taste - I don't use any
- 2 tsp olive oil
Instructions
- Open and drain the crab meat. Place the crab meat into a mixing bowl and pick through it to remove any bits of shell that may have been overlooked.
- Add the panko bread crumbs to the crab meat. Use a fork to toss it together.
- Add the Old Bay seasoning to the crab mixture. Toss it together to ensure that the Old Bay is evenly incorporated into the crab mixture. The crab is pasteurized. Taste it and add more Old Bay seasoning if you think it is needed. The Old Bay is salty and has a bite to it. I don't find that extra salt and pepper is needed but add some if you feel it is needed based on your taste buds.
- Add the light Miracle Whip and spicy brown mustard. Mix until they are full incorporated.
- Use a fork and pack the crab mixture down into an even layer in the mixing bowl. Divide the layer of crab mixture into four even portions with the fork.
- Take each portion of crab mixture and form it into a crab cake. You will end up with four large crab cakes. We prefer ours big but you can easily divide the recipe into 5-6 nice size cakes. I cook two for dinner and refrigerate the other two and cook them for the next night's dinner.
- Add the olive oil to the skillet and heat it up. Use a silicon barbecue brush to spread the oil over the entire bottom of the skillet. Place the crab cakes into the skillet and sauté for 2-4 min. per side Gently lift the bottom edge to check for brownness. When the bottom side is golden brown, flip the crab cakes and brown the other side.
- Serve the crab cakes with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce or a lemon wedge and enjoy.
Notes
All panko bread crumbs are not created equal. The sodium content per half of cup of crumbs varies from 490 mg to 45 mg of sodium.
Nutrition
Serving: 1crab cake | Calories: 152.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.5g | Protein: 21.8g | Fat: 3.7g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 756mg | Fiber: 0.25g | Sugar: 0.25g
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