Andrew Zimmern’s Crab Cakes Recipe

These are what has commonly been referred to as Baltimore-style crab cakes, which are made with an egg and mayo base that’s absorbed by the cracker crumbs to serve as a binder around the lumps of crab. There is no onion, bell pepper, or other ingredients to interfere with the pure joy of exquisite, high-quality, fresh jumbo lump crabmeat — those are the pieces from the largest pocket of the “shoulder” of the blue crab’s largest legs. 

I am not a big fan of the term signature, but this is one of those dishes that has become one for me. I am so indebted to my friend Judy, who taught it to her daughter Carol, who passed it on to me over three decades ago. If you stick to this list of ingredients and don’t skimp on the technique of letting the mixture set and then resting the pucks, crab cake heaven is in your future.

Andrew’s Crab Cakes

Serves 4

I make a great mayo-mustard sauce to go with these cakes. Combine 1:1 Dijon mustard to mayo and season with lemon juice to taste.

Ingredients

1 large egg, beaten

½ cup Hellmann’s or Duke’s mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon Crystal Hot Sauce (or another vinegar-based hot sauce)

1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for any shell pieces

20 saltine crackers, finely crushed

¼ cup canola oil

Lemon wedges

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce until smooth.

Place the crabmeat in a medium bowl and add the cracker crumbs. Gently fold in the mayonnaise mixture. Try not to break any of those beautiful lumps as you work to combine the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour but not more than 4 or 5 hours or the crumbs get gummy.

Scoop the crab mixture into eight ⅓-cup mounds and lightly pack each mound into a patty 1 to 1½ inches thick. Refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours.

Heat the oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the crab cakes and cook until deep golden on both sides and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the crab cakes to plates and serve with lemon wedges and the mustard sauce. If desired, serve with coleslaw.

Excerpted from The Blue Food Cookbook, provided courtesy of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright © 2025 by Fed By Blue. Reprinted by permission.