Maryland Crab Cakes, Home Made Tartar Sauce and Crispy Salad Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette

Growing up in Baltimore, MD, I unknowingly came to take for granted the abundance of fresh seafood made available to us straight from the Chesapeake Bay.  The most wonderful sweet, succulent Blue Crabs freshly steamed and caked with Old Bay Seasoning and piles of beer steamed peel and eat shrimp.  Since living in the Midwest for the past 5 years, I have had to find alternate sources for crab meat because simply accepting that I would not be able to enjoy Lump Crab Cakes as long as I live here was absolutely not an option.  The concept of pasteurized crab meat was something I was not familiar with and was, obviously, skeptical.  The freshness is not something you want to mess around with....ask anyone who has had the unfortunate experience of eating a bad crab!  However, shopping in the local Sam's Club, I noticed a container of pasteurized lump crab meat that actually looked quite impressive. Since it was only about $15.00 per container, I figured I did not have a lot to loose.  Fortunately, my $15.00 was not wasted.  So, here are my Maryland Crab Cakes, Home Made Tartar Sauce and Crispy Salad Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette. 

The first step when making crab cakes is to gently pick through the crab meat and remove any bits and pieces of shell without breaking up the lumps.  Place the crab meat in a bowl and add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon of mustard, a handful of freshly chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning and 1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs (use only enough to bind the mixture together).  Combine well, still being certain not to break up the lumps of crab meat and form into patties.  There is great debate as to whether you should broil, bake or fry crab cakes.  I use a combined method by preheating a cast iron skillet in a 425 degree oven with several tablespoons of canola oil and butter.  I place the crab cakes in the screaming hot skillet, which browns the bottoms of the cakes, and cook them for about 15 minutes total, flipping them over once.  The result is a nice crunchy crust and a fluffy interior without the cakes falling apart, as they so often do. 

A crab cake is not complete without tartar sauce.  I make mine by combining mayonnaise with sweet pickle relish, dill pickle relish, a few chopped capers, chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice.  It is probably best to make the tartar sauce a few hours before its time to eat and let the flavors come together in the refrigerator. 

I decided to pair my crab cakes with a salad, for something a little bit lighter, rather than the usual french fry accompaniment.  I washed and thoroughly dried some crispy, fresh romaine leaves and tossed them with a  lemony vinaigrette made by combining lemon zest, lemon juice, a bit of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. 

If I closed my eyes and clicked by heels three times, I just might have believed I was back home in Baltimore!