Crabcakes

[MrsWheatie]

I would like to serve crabcakes for a family gathering of 8 people, so I estimate 16 cakes. To save time does anyone have a rec for premade cakes that I can broil at home? Willing to make my own if turns out to be a cost savings. So I guess that I would need find a place that sells 3 lbs backfin (MD, NC, or Gulf), any recs? Looking around DC, MoCo, HoCo, AA, or Southern Baltimore.

Thanks!!

[MrsWheatie]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I ended up making my own with the "original" Old Bay recipe from their website (not the one on the can) and using saltines rather than the bread. They were a hit, would use a bit more Old Bay next time.

[Hue]

Just curious, where did you get your crabmeat ???

[MrsWheatie]

I used jumbo lump. One pound from Harris Teeter and 2 lbs at Whole paycheck from a company in Crisfield(?). We tried several places that only had the imported stuff from Asia. We got into a time crunch on Friday evening so we paid a dear price.

[abovethewaves]

Good to hear you made them yourself.

[eatsie]

What the world really needs is a crabcake taste-off. I'd like to see the recipes from Old Bay, Faidley's and others compared, for example. My guess is that Faidley's has the edge in seasoning and filler but a little too much mayo. But only a real taste-off would tell for sure. Let me be the first to volunteer to be a judge.

[beauxgoris]

Joe H. - thank you for posting the recipe links. I'm going to try both of them.

[eatsie]

beaux, let us know the results.

[chowsearch]

It's sooo complicated. I love Faidley's because their huge daily fresh crabmeat sales mean always good non-pasteurized Phillips-fake real crab for them to pack into their cakes, and they have four of five grades of crabcake ranging from gamy claw meat to big lumps, and you can get them fried or broiled. Mrs. Devine said they have different mixtures of liquid and binder which is Saltines in some for the different grades. Plus DC people have different expectations from those familiar with central and shore MD cakes. I still think if you got the best cake from Narrows, Faidley's, Timbuktu, G&M, Pappas, Prime Rib, Oceanaire, Kinkead's, Market Lunch, Peppermill and Jennings, with the same cooling and aging, most everyone would pick the Faidley's broiled lump in a blind test. I volunteer to judge any crabcake smackdown too. Still recovering from the pollo effort.

[ivysmom]

Check out Frank's Seafood Market in Jessup (corner of I-95 and Rt. 1) - I always buy my
crabmeat there, very fresh, good prices (although it's early for local crabmeat so it might be a bit pricey). They sell pre-made crabcakes too, but you can easily make
your own. There's an easy recipe on the Old Bay container.

[Joe H]

This is the recipe for Faidley's crab cakes. Note that it uses one cup of saltines:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Faidleys-World-Famous-Crab-Cakes-89609
This is the recipe for the best crab cake I have ever had at Kent Island's The Narrows, which uses two tablespoons of cracker meal. The difference in the amount from Faidley's is the difference in the amount of binder which each is using:
http://www.starchefs.com/features/cra...
Regardless of which, if either, you use you should not be using backfin crab meat. You want LUMP and you want local lump crabmeat which is sold at Wegman's, the Maine Avenue wharf and elsewhere. There is a difference in the sweetness of the crab. Lump is the consistency which will also affect the overall taste.

[Suemelk]

Try G and M in Linthicum MD. They have premade you can cook at home. You can go there to pick them up and they also have a website I think.

[michael4ny]

Someone recommended possibly buying them uncooked from Faidley's in Lex. Mkt. FORGET IT!!!!!..Their prices are absurd. Just an example...they're selling live lobsters for $16.99lb.....Wegmans had them yesterday for $9-$10 a lb. Imagine then how much Faidley's will charge for their overpriced crabmeat.

[eatsie]

Making at home should be cheaper, and you can control the size and quality of ingredients. They should also be fresher - freezing is not good for crabcakes. From one pound of backfin costing, say, $12-$24, you can get 6-8 cakes, or 3-4 servings.(Don't assume the cakes at even the best restaurants are MD blues.) Refrigerating for several hours before cooking is recommended, so you can do most of the work in advance. Re the Old Bay recipe, I prefer crumbled saltines for filling and coat them with panko as another post recommends.

[nosey]

The downtown Farmer's Market opens in Annapolis tomorrow(Sunday). There is someone there who makes great crabcakes to take home and cook. I usually roll them in pankos and saute them. I can't wait for their return.

[Denise]

I doubt you will save much money making your own, except that you can control the size and thus the cost.

My favorite place is Annapolis Seafood Market, which has several locations. The closest location for you would probably be Severna Park. They charge about $15-16 per cake for the jumbo lump which weigh about a half pound each. One of their crabcakes per person would be plenty.

I buy the uncooked cakes, add a little butter and sprinkle on some Old Bay. Best, best, best crapcakes I have had anywhere.

[sas]

Wegmans cant be beat

[tapas gal]

Koco's Pub has some of the best crabcakes (the best I've had) in Baltimore and they do ship.

http://www.kocospub.com/page.php?id=3

[Jacey]

Chris Marketplace at some of the area farmers markets has delicious prepared ones. All you need is to cook them.

[Dennis S]

Thompson's Seafood Corner in Mechanicsville, 301-884-5251 - not in the area you're looking around, but I wanted to put it here for others that may find this thread.

[monavano]

Try:
http://www.bobbyscrabcakes.com/
https://www.jerrysseafood.com/main.php

[abovethewaves]

Make your own....use the recipe on the side of a container of Old Bay. They will turn out better than any that you can purchase.

Make sure you use Jumbo Lump or Lump crab meat or else they may turn out "fishy" tasting.

Trust me on this one!

[ktmoomau]

crabplace.com

They are local watermen from Crisfield, Md who when times go tough opened online.

[lawhound]

Faidley's (Lexington Market) will make them for you, if you don't want to do it. Don't know the prices. For a decent sized crab cake (fried), and depending on the sides, I would not necessarily assume 2 per person.