Maryland Crab Cakes

My co-worker just returned from Maryland. She brought me 2 DELICIOUS crab cakes from Casey's Crab Co. in Laurel, MD. These were not only very tasty and packed with crab meat, they were of a grand size. I ate 1 1/2, forcing myself to save half for today. They were packed fresh with dry ice and in a styrofoam cooler to make the trip to Florida. Has anyone ever eaten there? If you take a notion, the website is: www.caseyscrabs.com

Lucky dog - I would love to have the opportunity to try an authentic Maryland crab cake. I love crab cakes, but down here they usually have a lot of breading and shrimp etc...more like stuffed crab.

Aren't the Maryland crab cakes mainly just crab held together with a binding ingredient? Are they fried or baked?

This was fresh, still uncooked. It was literally loaded with crab, in fact I thought there was some larger pieces of onion...it was crab. In fact, I could taste nothing but crab, a minimal, but sufficient amount of spices, a small amount of onion. Mixed with bread crumbs of some sort maybe and that was about it. They were very delicate cakes. I was careful to brown each side only once in butter. The outside was crisp, while the inside was decadent.

A premium Maryland crab cake will be made with jumbo lump crab, a little Old Bay seasoning, a little mayo and white or yellow mustard to hold everything together, a few bread crumbs and a little chopped up red or green pepper. No onion. Fry em or broil em.

Years ago a popular way to eat them, was on crackers with yellow mustard.

Pardon, but "white" mustard?? This had no red or green pepper. Mayo a definite possibility! When you ate them on crackers, was that before they were considered an entree'? I mean these guys were at least 4 inches across and 3/4 to an inch thick. More like a burger. That's be some cracker!

Rusty,

You don't necessarily eat them on the crackers whole but break off pieces & put them on the cracker. Sometimes they are made small enough to fit on the cracker though. You are more likely to find the peppers in the cakes from the shore. The mustard is powdered mustard not prepared. You now know why we Marylanders love our cakes. Truely good cakes are truely decadent. Never been to Casey's but just might make a trip down to check it out. Meowzart is from that area, she might be familiar with it.

quote:

Originally posted by ocdreamr

Rusty,

You don't necessarily eat them on the crackers whole but break off pieces & put them on the cracker. Sometimes they are made small enough to fit on the cracker though. You are more likely to find the peppers in the cakes from the shore. The mustard is powdered mustard not prepared. You now know why we Marylanders love our cakes. Truely good cakes are truely decadent. Never been to Casey's but just might make a trip down to check it out. Meowzart is from that area, she might be familiar with it.

Insert "blushing face"...what can you expect from a "southern girl"? That's one reason I come here, to learn. Thank you.

Granted, New Jersey is not Maryland but we have an outstanding crabcake purveyor in the Philadelphia area. Bobby Chez is an institution around here, with a few retail stores in the NJ suburbs of Philadelphia. His crabcakes are simply phenomenal. Pure lump crabmeat and a mayonnaise-type binder, seasoning, breading and that's it. When you go to the store to buy them, they take your order to a deep-fryer and only then and there do they fry them just enough to put a "skin" on them. You cook them the rest of the way yourself in your oven at home. Words do not do these things justice -- you have to try them!

You can also get Kelchner's Tarter Sauce and Cocktail Sauce there to go with your crabcakes. Kelchner's is another local business based here in my home zone of Bucks County, PA. All their sauces and horseradish products are fabulous!

For those of you who can't or won't make the trip down 95 to MD, I heartily recommend Bobby Chez's. No affiliation here, just a rabidly happy customer!

His website can be found at www.bobbychezcrabcakes.com

Good lord!! I've lived in Laurel for 4 years now and have never been to Casey's!! Nobody talks about it here! Ay caramba!! I will make a point of visiting and report back. Crikey...I feel SO out of the loop! The menu looks amazing!!!

My personal favorite for crabcakes is in Parkville (Baltimore) MD: Angelina's. I love them with all my heart. I make a pilgrimage up there anytime I get a chance. I have a good friend that is lucky enough to live walking distance from the restaurant. Here is their website: http://www.crabcake.com/ Believe it or not, they have their crabcake recipe online.

Maybe when CW is done squiring folks on the cheesesteak tour, OC and I should do a crabcake version....

quote:

Originally posted by meowzart

Good lord!! I've lived in Laurel for 4 years now and have never been to Casey's!! Nobody talks about it here! Ay caramba!! I will make a point of visiting and report back. Crikey...I feel SO out of the loop! The menu looks amazing!!!

My personal favorite for crabcakes is in Parkville (Baltimore) MD: Angelina's. I love them with all my heart. I make a pilgrimage up there anytime I get a chance. I have a good friend that is lucky enough to live walking distance from the restaurant. Here is their website: http://www.crabcake.com/ Believe it or not, they have their crabcake recipe online.

Maybe when CW is done squiring folks on the cheesesteak tour, OC and I should do a crabcake version....

I'm interested in that tour!

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!!

Sign me up!!

I'm in !

quote:

Originally posted by i95

I'm in !

Me too! I want to find a crabcake as good as Faidley's {where I have to stand up at a counter and eat my crabcake and drink my beer!!}

quote:

Originally posted by ocdreamr

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!!

I'm in.

Seriously, let's do this. Someone pick a day and those drivable to Laurel will meet for crab cakes. I can see a group photo of the attenders as a follow-up on this very site!

What'ya say ??

Folks, the best way (as a person who has lived her whole life in this area) that I have found to do crabcakes is rather simple. Take a pound of the best crab that you can afford (backfin or blended backfin) and gently check for shell bits. Then put in about a tablespoon of clear Vietnamese fish sauce (no am not kidding -- points up the sweetness without changing the taste). Next toss lightly with about a handful of cracker crumbs or fresh bread crumbs. Then about 2 heaping tablespoons of real may (I like Hellman's) should be gently tossed in with your fingers. Shape gently into inch thick patties and fry in butter. Major yum.

Let's work on the tour itinerary.

Caseys - Laurel
G & M - Linthicum
Faidleys - Lexington Market
Angelinas - Parkville

Come hungry and bring lots of gelt. Those crabs don't work cheap.

I hope you kids do manage a crab cake tour. You'll be glad you did.

In September '98, my sweetie and I did a mini seafood vacation up and down both sides of Chesapeake Bay just for crab cakes and soft shells. Those 4 days along and on the bay were among the most enjoyable of my life. We made this trip just to eat great seafood and did beautifully.

For Baltimore, my Maryland friends highly recommend Angelina's crab cakes. I have the following item about Angelina's saved to a folder on Baltimore restaurants:

Angelina's
Northeast Baltimore/Parkville/Perry Hall/Baynesvil
7135 Harford Rd. (Rosalie Ave.)
Baltimore, MD, 21234
(410) 444-5545

"It sounds like heresy to ignore this Northeast Baltimore Irish-Italian saloon's main claim to culinary fame, but if you "look past" its legendary crab cakes ("the biggest and maybe the best in the world"), you'll find some really "good bar food served by real hons"; insiders advise you to treat its "blue-collar atmosphere" as "an attraction in its own right."

Website addy: http://www.crabcake.com/

from Zagat.com

quote:

Originally posted by i95

Seriously, let's do this. Someone pick a day and those drivable to Laurel will meet for crab cakes. I can see a group photo of the attenders as a follow-up on this very site!

What'ya say ??

I'm so there! Being semi-employed at the moment my schedule is flexible, and as part of my new residence in MD I need some local Roadfood research!

I really like signman's itinerary. It works our way from south to north. And he's also right that it won't be cheap. Bring your credit card.

Gas for driving around Baltimore: 40$
Crabcakes and beer at Casey's, G&M, Faidley's, and Angelina's: 100$
A picture of gathered roadfooders with crabcake stains on their shirts: priceless!!

How does March 6th sound? Or should we wait until it gets warmer? Maybe the end of March?

End of March would be better for me _and_warmer, cannot make the 6th

I'll go if it's the last weekend in March! I have a wedding to go to the weekend of the 20th in NY, so that won't be good.

13th or 20th work for me. Out of town on the 6th and 27th. Actually April 3rd would be best of all.

I checked in on Casey's website. It looks like a carryout seafood market. No sit down. One lump crabcake - $9.95.

I'll go with April 3rd!

I went to lunch one day at Jerry's Seafood in Landover. Their specialty is the crab "bomb", a giant crabcake priced at $34. Almost every table was enjoying them. I couldn't believe it. Our table just went with the regular size for around $20. Lunch!!!! $34 !!!!!! before anything else.

Anyone been here? www.jerrysseafood.com

quote:

Originally posted by signman

13th or 20th work for me. Out of town on the 6th and 27th. Actually April 3rd would be best of all.

I checked in on Casey's website. It looks like a carryout seafood market. No sit down. One lump crabcake - $9.95.

Yep, just checked with my co-worker as well, take out only.

I guess that someone will have to pick a firm date and then we will have to stick with it. I, for one, cannot go April 3 as we leave for our 10 day vacation in Williamsburg that morning. But if that is the date you decide on, I will just sit and wait for the great reports and pics!

I say plan from the later part of March onward. We have been known to get a St Patty's Day snowstorm or two. I haven't set my dates for a possible sring trip yet so I'm pretty much open to any date.

How about February 7th ?