Maryland Crab Cakes with Quick Tartar Sauce

• servings: 6 items
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 large eggs

2½ tablespoons mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's

1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup finely diced celery, from one stalk

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 pound lump crab meat (see note below)

½ cup panko

Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking

1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's

1½ tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon minced red onion

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.

Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat. Shape into 6 cakes (each about ½ cup) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps them set.

Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve the crab cakes warm with the tartar sauce.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, onion, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Make-Ahead Instructions: The crab cakes can be formed, covered, and refrigerated a day ahead of time before cooking. The tartar sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.

Note: If you can only find jumbo lump crab meat, you may need to break the pieces up a bit. If the clumps are too large, the crab cakes won't hold together well.

Note: The nutritional information does not include the tartar sauce.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 crab cakes
• Calories: 299
• Total Fat: 14 g
• Saturated Fat: 3 g
• Cholesterol: 275 mg
• Sodium: 1141 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 32 g