Recipe Courtesy of April Stamm

Serves 4-6

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3 scallions, finely chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped 

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 egg

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 1/2 cup dried plain bread crumbs (divided)

1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked free of any shell

1/2 pound claw crabmeat, picked free of any shell

neutral oil for pan-frying


Sweat the scallions, red pepper, and celery in the butter just until they soften. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper as they sweat.  When they are soft, remove from heat and place in a small bowl or on a plate and allow to cool completely.


When the vegetables are cool, in a large bowl combine vegetables, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, egg, parsley, and Old Bay. Gently fold in the crabmeat and 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs.  Be careful not break up the crabmeat.  The mixture should be fairly loose just barely holding together when formed into cakes.  Taste the mixture at this point and adjust seasoning (nothing except the egg is raw).


Spread half of the remaining breadcrumbs on a large plate evenly.  Form the crab mixture into cakes about 1 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.  As you form each patty, lay it on the layer of breadcrumbs you have spread on the plate/platter.  After you have formed all of the patties dust the top of the patties with the remaining breadcrumbs.  Chill the crab cakes in the refrigerator or the freezer until they are quite cold (this will help them hold together in order to cook them).


Preheat the oven to 150-200 degrees.


When the crab cakes are cold, pan-fry them in a heavy bottomed sauté pan with about a1/4 inch of neutral oil about 2-3 at a time (so as not to crowd the pan).  Make sure to keep the uncooked cakes in the refrigerator while frying so they stay cold.  Cook them for about 4 minutes a side (flipping only once) over medium heat until they are nice and brown and crusty on the outside and warmed through in the middle .  Keep the cooked cakes warm in the oven on a cooling rack set over a sheet pan while you cook the rest of the crab cakes.

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