{Recipe} Maryland Crab & Shrimp Cakes

Although I've since crossed the Potomac, I'm a born & raised Maryland girl, and true to my heritage, I love me some crabs. I also love me some Ravens and wanted to do a Maryland-inspired post when they won the Super Bowl. It took me a few weeks, and the Super Bowl probably isn't on most of your minds anymore, but this is my 'Hooray, Ravens!' celebration post. Even if you're a 49ers fan and are hating the Ravens at the moment, I'd still recommend giving this recipe a try. I made this for Valentine's Day, and Bryan dubbed it his favorite meal I ever cooked him.

I was planning to make traditional Maryland crab cakes, but Bryan suggested the addition of shrimp. It may not be very Maryland, but I liked the idea of this twist since I love shrimp too, and it has a second added benefit - more meat for less money.

I was not very exact in my measurements, so I apologize in advance if anything seems off. I think this is approximately what I used...

Ingredients:

• 8 oz crab meat (Jumbo lump is the best. Jumbo lump is also crazy expensive. I usually just buy whatever's on a good sale)
• 10 large shrimp
• 6 club crackers (you could also use other crackers or bread crumbs)
• 1 tbsp mayo
• 1 tsp mustard
• A couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay (in my mind, Old Bay is what makes it a Maryland crab cake! You can make it without Old Bay, but it's no longer Maryland style!)
• Dash of salt

First, smash your crackers. I stuck them in a ziplock back and smashed them with the side of a meat tenderizer. You want them to be very fine crumbs. Also chop up your shrimp. I used one of those chopper gadgets and chopped mine up into very tiny bits.

Mix all of the non-meat ingredients together, then add the crab and shrimp last. If you have lump crab meat, try to keep it nice and lumpy - stir gently to avoid breaking up your crab. 

Shape the mixture into crab cakes - this made 4 cakes for me. Refrigerate your crab cakes for at least an hour. 

Broil them for 10-15 minutes. You could also fry them, although I always go for broiling.

The key to Maryland crab cakes

I used 'special' crab meat this time (aka the cheap tiny bits of crab)

The crab mixture

Pre-cooked cakes - I sprinkled more Old Bay on top since I didn't think they had enough (can you tell I like Old Bay?)

The cooked cakes

Dinner!

Overall, they're very easy, very quick (other than the refrigeration hour), pretty healthy, and so delicious (at least in the minds of us seafood lovers)!