Maryland-style Crab Cake Recipe

Maryland Style Crab Cakes With Spicy Dill Lemon Sauce(Prep. time about 15 minutes. Makes 6 cakes)

8 oz. lump backfin crab meat, picked to remove shell pieces

3 Tbl. milk

2 slices white bread, crust trimmed and cut into small cubes

1/4 C. mayonaise

2 Tbl. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. mustard flour

pinch each of salt and pepper

1 C. bread crumbs

2 Tbl. vegetable oil

Sauce:

1/2 C. mayonaise

3 Tbl. sour cream

1 tsp. dill weed

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

salt/ pepper

splashes of hot sauce to taste

Stir all the ingredients for the sauce together and refrigerate while you make the crab cakes to allow the flavors to marry.

While gently picking through the crab meat to make sure there are no shell fragments, soak the bread cubes in the milk. Remove the bread cubes from the milk and allow extra  milk to drain off. Place bread, crab, mayonaise and seasonings in bowl and gently combine. Don't stir too agressively. You want to keep the crab in chunks.  Heat oil in a saute' pan. The oil will be ready when a small bit of bread dropped in the oil creates bubbles and immediately rises to the surface. Form the crab cakes and place in bread crumbs, completely coating. The cakes will be very loose, so you have to be very gentle with them. Fry for about two minutes until the first side is golden brown, then carefully flip. (It's easier to keep them together if you use a fork as well as a spatula when turning)  Cook the other side until golden brown, again, about 2 minutes. Remove to paper towel to drain.

Serve with dill sauce and desired sides like sauted mushrooms and cherry tomatoes or salt potatoes with butter.