These luscious crab cakes are proportionally perfect: heavy on glorious hunks of crab, light on bread crumbs. And instead of frying the cakes, Baltimore chef Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen serves them “brold” (Baltimorese for “broiled,” he says). “I can’t overemphasize how important it is to use fresh, carefully processed meat from blue crabs,” he adds.
Slideshow: Quick Fish Recipes
Recipe from Food & Wine Chefs' Easy Weeknight Dinners.
How to Make It
Preheat the broiler on the lowest setting and position a rack 12 inches from the heat. Rub 1 tablespoon of the butter on a small rimmed baking sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Gently fold in the crabmeat and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs, breaking up the crab into smaller pieces. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Pack one-fourth of the crab mixture into a 1/2-cup dry measuring cup and turn out onto the prepared baking sheet. With slightly damp hands, gently form it into a patty. Repeat with the remaining crab mixture; the patties will be very loose. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs on top of the patties.
Broil the crab cakes for 5 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden. Drizzle the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter on top and broil for 1 minute longer. With a large spatula, carefully transfer the crab cakes to plates. Serve with lemon wedges.