Crab Cakes, Shaw's Style

Thankfully the weather improved just enough this weekend for a long leisurely walk on the beach along the ocean. Since moving to the east coast, I have discovered just how soothing the sound of waves can have on my spirit, on my soul. Which means I have tried to make time to listen to them as often as possible. One's spirit can never be soothed too much! The drive from the farm house to the ocean is three short minutes. So even at the end of a long day I can have the zen like wave listening experience as often as the weather cooperates. With the days getting longer now, my end of the work day destination will be beach. That is, of course, unless my work commitments turn my usual 10 hour day into a 12 or 14 hour one.

One cannot help but being taken in by the ocean for both its beauty and its bounty. And speaking of bounty, I have had some lump crab meat in the refrigerator for awhile now. Time had come for me to make something with them, rather than just open up the can and just start eating them. Since it had been awhile since I had made crab cakes, it suddenly felt like a crab cake making kind of day.

The first time I ever had a crab cake was at Shaw's Crab House, a restaurant in Chicago.  Their lump crab cakes were and still are absolutely drive worthy, pay for parking, and wait for a table over the top good.  I had been making crab cakes using a recipe from a restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, but I thought if I spent some time searching I might find one that either replicated the Shaw's Crab House recipe or find their recipe.

It didn't take too much looking as I found a video posted by a chef from the restaurant who described how to make these delicious and decadent crab cakes.  The recipe I found listed chopped parsley and cayenne in the ingredients, but I didn't feel like having those flavors in the crab cake so I left them out.  After I made and tasted them, I thought they were perfect.  So I am pretty certain I wouldn't add parsley or cayenne to this recipe any time soon.

The recipe recommended using 3/4 pound each of crab meat and crab claw meat.  I wanted these crab cakes to have a higher ratio of lump crab meat to claw meat, so I used one pound of lump and a half pound of claw meat.  This turned out to be a perfect ratio.

The crab cakes are held together with a mayonnaise based mixture seasoned with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, white pepper and Old Bay Seasoning. One tablespoon of cracker meal (I used crushed Saltine crackers) and one tablespoon of the mixed egg are added to the mayonnaise mixture.

The mayonnaise mixture is then combined with the crabmeat. Once everything was mixed together, I added the remaining mixed egg and one additional tablespoon of crushed Saltine crackers to ensure the crab cake mixture would bind well.  The crab mixture is covered and hilled for at least 30 minutes. One of the great things about this recipe, is that you can mix everything together early in the day and then cook right before serving.

If you are making all of the crab cakes at once, use a nonstick skillet large enough to hold all of the crab cakes so they have room to breathe. I used a two-inch ice cream scoop to form my crab cakes so they were of the same size and weight.  The non-stick pan should be wiped with some vegetable oil and heated before adding the crab cakes.

The crab cakes are seared on both sides and then placed in a preheated 400 degree (F) oven where they are baked for 10 minutes.  These over the top, rich and delicious crab cakes are served with the mustard mayonnaise sauce. The combination of the flavors of the crab and the mustard mayonnaise sauce is incredible. I don't think you will ever use tartar sauce on a crab cake again.

The mustard mayonnaise sauce is one of the easiest you will ever make.  Rice vinegar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of Old Bay seasoning are added to one cup of mayonnaise.  After all of the ingredients are thoroughly mixed allow the sauce to chill for at least 30 minutes.  The sauce can be made the night before or early in the day to allow the flavors to more fully develop.

Recipe
Crab Cakes, Shaw's Style (inspired by Shaw's Crab House crab cake recipe)
Updated January 2024 

Crab Cake Ingredients
1 pound (554g) lump crab meat
1/2 pound (227g) crab claw meat 
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise (recommend Hellman's)
1 large egg, beaten
1 to 2 Tablespoons cracker meal (or crushed Saltines)

Mustard Mayonnaise Ingredients
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
pinch of Old Bay seasoning

Directions
For the crab cakes:
1. Mix dry spices into Worcestershire sauce.  Then add mayonnaise and mix well.
2. Beat egg until frothy.
3. Fold one Tablespoon of the egg into the mayonnaise mixture.
4. Mix together the lump crab and crab claw meat in a bowl or on a tray.
5. Incorporate the mayonnaise mixture and 1 tablespoon of cracker meal (or crushed Saltines) to the crab mixture.
6. Add additional cracker meal and egg as necessary for the mixture to hold together.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
7. Using a large ice cream scoop, form the crab mixture into 8-9 equal cakes.
8. Lightly brush non-stick a large frying pan with oil.  Heat pan.
9. Add crab cakes without crowding them together.  Press down on each crab cake slightly.
10. Sear crab cakes on both sides, then place on a foil lined baking sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes to finish the cooking. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter.
11. Serve with the mustard mayonnaise.

For the mustard mayonnaise sauce:
1. Mix the rice vinegar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise together.  When mixed add a pinch of Old Bay seasoning.
2. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Notes: (1) I crushed 4 individual squares of Saltine crackers instead of using cracker meal. (2) If possible, buy your crabmeat from a seafood store. (3) The crab cakes can be formed early in the day. Cover and keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to cook. (4) Instead of making 9 large crab cakes, you could make 18 smaller crab cakes. 

It is easy these day to take things and people for granted.  We get busy, we get distracted, or we have no other point of reference from which to make comparisons.  Because I did not grow up near the ocean or the mountains, I continue to be mesmerized by both of them.  For me, the water and the mountains have been great sources of energy and have been places where I gone to sort out my thoughts.  These views can make my heart race and they bring a sense of calm over me.  And sometimes I have wanted to cry as I can be overwhelmed at their sheer beauty.

I can take photos of the same mountain range or the same ocean time and again and each time I see it differently, my photos are just a little different as well.  Light, clouds, and color of the sky are just some of things that impact my photos of the ocean here out east or the mountains in Colorado.  But they are also affected by my moods. As when I am distracted with thoughts of things concerning me or when I am feeling all is right with the world, my focus changes and so do my photos. While I don't keep a diary, my photos in many ways reveal much of what I am thinking. I have known for a long time that the reason I take so many photos of these landscapes is because I want to capture forever a view that took my breath away or enabled me to simultaneously experience the feelings of calm and energy.  

I get to take in views of the sea everyday now. And there has not been a day that I have taken these views for granted.  Maybe it's because I didn't grow up with them. Or maybe I have just learned to appreciate just how much the landscape can affect my spirit.  It's not always what we hear that matters, it's also what we take in with our eyes.