One of the dishes that are considered an American classic is the Crab Cake. Crab cakes have been around since the colonial days, and have grown in popularity. Now they are known world wide, and are a favorite in many countries.

While many variations on the crab cake have been developed over the years, traditionalists still prefer the basic Maryland crab cake. It simple flavor combinations, and the ease and quickness of the recipe have made it a very enjoyable dish to prepare and eat.

Like most recipes, the higher the quality of ingredients you start with, the better the final product will be. Although crab meat is not inexpensive, you will enjoy the taste you get with high quality crab meat. Along with the quality of the crab meat, you will get better flavors from fresher ingredients.

The crab cake recipe itself is very simple. There are not many ingredients, which allows the flavor of the crab meat to come through, and not get buried by the other ingredients. The recipe itself starts with the crab meat. This typically lump crab meat, although some recipes will have you mix lump and claw meat together. This is mixed with saltine cracker crumbs, and a dressing made of eggs, salt, finely ground onion, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

These ingredients are carefully mixed together. You only need to mix the ingredients until they bind and you are able to form patties. Over mixing will break up the crab meat too much, and you will lose much of the desired texture.

Once the ingredients are mixed, form them into patties that are about ¾ to 1-inch thick. If you are making crab cakes for appetizers make a 2 ounce patty. For an entrée, make 4 ounce patties. When the patties are formed refrigerate them for about 2 hours before cooking so they will set and be firm enough not to fall apart when cooking.

In a frying pan or skillet you can sauté the crab cakes in clarified butter until they are golden brown. You can make clarified butter by heating butter until it is almost to the boiling point, Separate the solids from the top, and use the clear butter at the bottom to cook with. This allows you to sauté at a higher temperature without your butter burning in the pan.

Serve your crab cakes warm to your hungry guests and watch them enjoy this traditional American classic. It is quick and easy, and best of all, it is delicious.