email this pageCrab cakes are a Maryland institution, and the best are Maryland bred. The high priestess of crab cookery is Mrs. Devine, who rules the Lexington Market in Baltimore. Her parents, who founded Faidley's, sold only fresh fish and produce until the early 1970s when prepared foods started making their want into markets and Mrs. Devine decided to start selling her crab cakes. Through the years her recipe has changed slightly, but she has always made three different kinds of cakes from lump, backfin and claw meat for three different pocketbooks. Mrs. Devine confessed that she may use crabs from Texas occasionally but never uses crab from abroad. She uses her hands to mix the ingredients. When Fresh Fields asked her to prepare crab cakes, they wanted to change the recipe slightly so she refused. "They wanted organic this and that. So it won't be my crab cake," she said. "I thought my crab cakes would be too expensive . . . but for crab lovers, they are not."
When the Devines decided to start preparing crab cakes, they also installed stand-up tables, probably one of the first restaurants to do so. Her husband, who was in naval intelligence before he got into the crab business, got the idea from the stand up tables at the Pentagon. "People won't sit down next to just anybody," he said. "But they will stand up next to anyone."
Mrs. Devine would not give me her recipe but admits that the success of a good crab cake is in using your hands to mix the ingredients. She did, at least, share the ingredients; the rest I deducted by testing. It may not be Mrs. Devine's exact recipe, but it is a pretty good second guess. I have used her recipe for lump crab cakes, which has a crunchy exterior and moist interior. Mrs. Devine attributes the lightness to the addition of Saltines, and the great taste to consistency and basic good home cooking.
Lump Crab Cakes
1 cup crushed Saltine crackers
½ cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
1 tablespoon each Dijon mustard and yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Vegetable oil for deep frying
2. In a small bowl mix together mayonnaise, egg, mustards, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay Seasoning and Tabasco Sauce. Pour mayonnaise mixture over crabmeat; using your hands gently toss, taking care not to break up the lumps of crabmeat. Let mixture stand 5 minutes.
3. Form mixture into 6 mounded rounds about 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Do not pack the batter too firmly. This is very important. The cakes should be as loose as possible, yet still hold their shape.
4. Pour oil into a deep skillet and heat. Deep fry crab cakes a few at a time until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to paper towels to drain briefly. Serves 6.
Recipe by Joan Nathan, "Relish the American Table," July 9, 2006; "Relish a Classic Dish," August 2006.
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