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Is it even a crab cake if you can’t see entire claws throughout?

Sometimes crab cakes can get pretty “bready”. While all crab cakes are good, I’ve come to prefer the ones that have large, sweet chunks of crab meat (a la Maryland style crab cakes). I don’t know much about the cuisines of Baltimore but what I do know is that they pump out a proper crab cake!

And while I don’t have access to fresh Blue Crab in the Pacific Northwest, I do have access to an unlimited amount of Dungeness crab meat. Dungeness crab meat is firmer than the snow crab I was used to working with when I lived on the East Coast – making it a perfect protein to use in crab cakes.

Chunky crab cakes with minimal filling

An important note: This recipe is for 2 pounds of crab meat AFTER it has been shelled – not 2 lbs of crab in the shell.

Dungeness Crab Cakes & Homemade Caper Tartar

Makes 10 crab cakes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 13 minutes
Course Appetizer

Equipment

  • Cutting Board
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Oven
  • Cookie Sheet
  • Rubber Spatula
  • Knife

Ingredients
  

Crab Cakes

  • 2 lbs Dungeness Crab Meat
  • 1/2 Cup Hellman's Mayo
  • 2 Egg
  • 2 tbsp Parsley Minced
  • 2 Shallot Minced
  • 28 Saltine Crackers Crumbed
  • 2 tsp Grainy Dijon Mustard
  • 4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
  • 4 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
  • Healthy Splash of Lemon Juice Approximately 2-3 tbsp
  • Sea Salt To Taste
  • Cracked Peppercorn To Taste
  • 6 tbsp Melted Butter For Brushing
  • Cooking Spray
  • Fresh Dill For Garnish

Caper Tartar Sauce

  • 1 Cup Hellman's Mayo
  • 8 Cornichons Finely Minced
  • 4 TBSP Lemon Juice
  • 2 TBSP Capers (Half finely minced, half full capers)
  • 2 tsp Grainy Dijon Mustard
  • 2 tbsp Fresh Dill Minced
  • Sea Salt To Taste
  • Fresh Cracked Peppercorn To Taste

Instructions
 

Crab Cakes

  • Preheat oven to 450
  • After your crab is removed from the shell, gently squeeze off any excess liquid and place in a mixing bowl.
  • Run saltine crackers through a food processor until they smooth, with no large chunks left. Add to mixing bowl.
  • Mix all other ingredients together (except for the melted butter), and pour into the bowl with the crab and the cracker crumbs.
  • Use a rubber spatula to gentley mix the crab cake with the seasonings.
  • Separate into 10 equal portions, and carefully form the crab cakes.
  • Place your crab cakes on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with oil.
  • Brush with butter, and bake at 450 for approximately 13 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven, and brush again with melted butter.
  • Garnish with fresh dill
  • Serve alongside homemade caper tartar sauce.

Caper Tartar Sauce

  • Mix all ingredients together
  • Serve with crab cakes
  • Enjoy

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