Baltimore Crab Cakes Recipe | Bon Appétit

A good crab cake recipe doesn’t hide the crab—it celebrates it. While some versions load the patties with soaked white bread, crushed saltines, Ritz cracker crumbs, or other fillers, this one puts the crab meat front and center. Chesapeake Bay jumbo lump blue crab is the traditional seafood used in Baltimore-style crab cakes, but most varieties will do, as well as whatever grade fits your budget, including backfin or regular lump.

You will need just enough breadcrumbs in the filling to give the crab cakes structure and a little more to coat them, which helps form their crispy surface. We prefer Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs, which are less dense than Italian-style and make for a lighter, airier patty. (Need a gluten-free crab cake? Our friends at Epicurious have you covered.)

We like these on a bed of lettuce, accompanied by nothing more than a spritz of lemon juice (and perhaps a dash of hot sauce), but you could certainly pair them with cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, or remoulade if you’re so inclined.

Note: For smaller, appetizer-size portions, use an ice cream scoop to portion the crab mixture into 1″–2″ patties.