Oven Baked Crab Cakes From the Sea Grill Restaurant
Submitted by jennychristo
Oven-baked crab cakes with 2 lbs jumbo lump crab, cornflake crust, Dijon, and Old Bay. Crispy outside, tender inside, and no pan-frying mess. Restaurant-quality at home.
YIELD
20 crab cakesPREP
15 minCOOK
15 minREADY
30 minThese oven-baked crab cakes skip the frying pan entirely. Two full pounds of jumbo lump crab meat get bound with egg yolks, mayo, Dijon mustard, and Old Bay, then coated in crushed cornflakes and baked until shattering crisp.
The cornflake coating is the move here. Pulse them coarse in a food processor, not fine. You want craggy, uneven pieces that toast up with real crunch in the oven. A pat of butter on top of each cake before baking does the work that a frying pan would normally do, browning and crisping that cornflake shell from the outside in.
Chilling the formed cakes for at least 2 hours is not optional. That rest firms up the binding so they hold their shape in the oven instead of spreading into flat patties. Four hours is even better if you have the time.
Keep the crab tossing gentle. The whole point of using jumbo lump is those beautiful big pieces of crab. Rough mixing breaks them down into shreds, and then you’ve just got expensive crab mush.
Kitchen Tips
- Use real jumbo lump crab, not claw meat. The texture and flavor difference is worth every penny
- The cayenne is subtle at ⅛ teaspoon. Double it if you want some real warmth
- A ¼-cup measure makes perfectly uniform cakes every time
- Serve with tartar sauce or a squeeze of lemon and nothing else
Variations
- Panko swap: Use crushed panko breadcrumbs instead of cornflakes for a finer, lighter crust
- Remoulade finish: Skip tartar sauce and serve with a Cajun remoulade for a Gulf Coast spin
Ingredients
Directions
In a food processor, pulse cornflakes until ground coarse and spread in a shallow baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, cayenne and yolks and add crab meat and salt and pepper to taste, tossing mixture gently but thoroughly.
With a ¼ cup measure, form crab mxture into slightly flattened rounds about 2½ inches wide and ¾ inch thick and gently coat crab cakes with cornflakes, transferring as coated to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet.
Chill crab cakes, covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Transfer crab cakes to a large baking sheet.
Put about ½ teaspoon butter on each crab cake and bake in the middle of the oven until crisp and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Serve with tartar sauce.
Comments
