I love crab cakes, but I never order them at a restaurant because it's all filler and they use cheap canned crab meat, yuck! I always use jumbo lump crab meat from my local fish market, it's always fresh and delicious. Yes it's expensive at $45 a pound, but well worth the splurge every once in a while when I have some extra money. I keep it real simple so the flavor of the crab meat shines. In a large bowl I mix 3/4 cup of Hellmann's mayonnaise, juice of 1/2 a lemon, a couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of Old bay seasoning, salt and pepper to taste and whisk it together well. Next I add 12 saltine crackers crushed up well and the crab meat, mix it together very gently so you don't break up the nice lumps of crab meat too much. Form them into any size cakes you like and chill them in the fridge for about an hour. Next I sauteed them off in plenty of butter until golden on both sides and finish them in a 425 degree oven until heated through. I made a light lemon tarter sauce to serve with them, but sometimes I make a chipotle mayo or a roasted red pepper mayo.
*sometimes I make them patty size and serve them on a bun like a burger
**make these once and I promise you will never order one out again
***I served them last night on a bed of baby arugula dressed simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, two of us ate the entire platter
****please try this recipe it's easy and you will love it
