Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: "This is the best crab cake recipe you will ever find. If you don't overmix, and don't pack your mounds too tightly, you will experience pure, unadulterated crab cake heaven," Andrew Zimmern says. "Seriously, they are that good. Follow the steps to the letter and you will be making these cakes every opportunity you have. For years I searched for a great crab cake recipe. I wanted one that didn't have a lot of filler. There is, in fact, a right and a wrong way to cook some foods, and putting a lot of junk in a crab cake is one of the biggest transgressions I find in American cookery," he contends.

"Anyway, one night about 20 years ago, my best friend's wife (who is from Baltimore) shared her mother's secret 'country club' recipe for crab cakes. This is it, verbatim. I make these in double batches and put the leftovers in the fridge. If you haven't eaten a cold crab cake on toast with sliced tomato and Russian dressing, then you are really missing out. For parties, instead of just eight, I make 24 to 26 mini doughnut-hole-size crab cakes. Team these with homemade slaw, a warm potato salad, and some fruit salad."