Gertie’s Crab Cakes

Gertie Cleary hailed from Baltimore’s Greenmount Avenue and her cooking was legendary throughout St. Ann’s parish and northeast Baltimore. Her crab cakes are my absolute favorite. I must, however, admit my bias. Gertie was my grandmother, and I grew up on these wonderful spiced morsels of crab. This recipe is in the most traditional style of Bay crab cakes. It uses as lightly spiced mixture of mayonnaise and egg, and is lightly bound together with cracker crumbs.

NotesTo clarify butter, place solid unsalted butter into a heavy-bottomed pot and slowly melt over a low heat. When the butter is completely melted, remove from the heat. There will be three distinct parts of the butter remaining: a foam on the top; a clear, golden-colored liquid in the center; and a milky liquid on the bottom. The trick is to separate the golden liquid from the foam and milky solids.

First, skim off the foamy topping and discard. Next, with a small ladle, carefully remove the golden liquid to a clean, dry container, being careful not to take up any of the milky solids from the bottom. The clear, golden butter is clarified butter and is excellent for most sautéing needs.

Cooking Methodbroiling, pan-frying, sauteeing

CostModerate

Total Timeunder 2 hours

Make Ahead RecipeYes

Kid FriendlyYes

One Pot MealYes

OccasionCasual Dinner Party

Recipe Coursemain course

Five Ingredients or LessYes

Mealbrunch, dinner

Taste and Texturerich, savory, spiced