Mini Crab Burgers with Homemade Berry Mix and Tartar Sauce Recipe

Crab cakes are especially popular along Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and along the mid-Atlantic coast. Some Maryland purists have very specific ideas about what can and cannot go into a crab cake, but crab cake lovers around the world tend to add their own special touches when making them at home. Moist and spicy with a crispy surface, crab cakes can be enjoyed on their own with a lemon wedge or with a variety of sauces to complement their flavor. Serving crab cakes as sliders is a fun and versatile way to enjoy this dish as they can be offered as an appetizer, part of a party buffet, or even as a lunch or dinner entrée.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico created this mini crab burger recipe that features a blend of homemade berries and tartar sauce. The flavor of crab meat pairs with ingredients like red pepper, Dijon mustard, shallot and parsley, and a little mayonnaise adds richness and moisture. The simplified six-spice berry blend is a breeze to make while adding another big dose of flavor to crab cakes. The tangy, herby homemade tartar sauce contains dill pickles and pairs well with the heat of the crab cakes. You don’t have to go to Maryland or even eat out to enjoy this tasty seafood meal. You may be surprised how easy it can be to make sliders fun, restaurant-worthy crab meals in the comfort of your own home.

Read more: 15 Different Ways to Cook Fish

Gather your crab cake slider ingredients

For this recipe, you will first make a homemade bay leaf mixture and you will need celery salt, ground bay leaves, smoked paprika, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Use a little olive oil to grease the pan and drizzle over the crab cakes before baking. Besides the bay leaf mixture, the rest of the crab cake mixture will require mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, egg, red pepper, celery, shallot, garlic, black pepper, chopped parsley, crab meat and panko breadcrumbs.

We used crab claw meat for this recipe, but the choice between different qualities of crab meat is up to you. Jumbo lump crab meat comes from just two muscles of the crab’s body, is the largest and most expensive, and is best enjoyed on its own. Next comes lump crab meat and dorsal fin crab meat, which are large broken pieces of lump and body meat and are often preferred for crab cakes. Next comes the claw meat, which has a stronger crab flavor that we think holds its own when combined with all the other ingredients.

Finally, you will need the following ingredients to make the tartar sauce: mayonnaise, dill pickles, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, dill, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Have rolls and lettuce on hand to serve the crab rolls.

Step 1: Preheat the oven

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Step 2: Grease a baking sheet

Grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

Step 3: Prepare the berry mixture

To make the homemade bay leaf mixture, place the celery salt, bay leaves, paprika, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir well to combine.

Step 4: Start Making the Crabcake Mix

To make the crab cakes, add 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, egg, bell pepper, celery, shallot, garlic, pepper and parsley to the bay leaf mixture and whisk well to combine.

Step 5: Add the Crab Meat and Breadcrumbs

Add the crab meat and breadcrumbs and toss gently to coat.

Step 6: Form the patties

Form 12 small patties and place them on the baking sheet.

Step 7: Cook the Crab Cakes

Drizzle olive oil over the patties and bake for about 25 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown and slightly crispy.

Step 8: Prepare the tartar sauce

Meanwhile, make the tartar sauce by placing the mayonnaise, pickles, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, dill and parsley in a medium bowl and whisking to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 9: Serve the mini crab burgers

Serve hot crab cakes on buns with lettuce on the bottom and tartar sauce on top.

Mini Crab Burgers with Homemade Berry Mix and Tartar Sauce Recipe

How do I make homemade berry mix?

Old Bay Seasoning is a popular and aromatic spice blend primarily used to flavor seafood. It was reportedly developed in 1939 in Baltimore by a German immigrant named Gustav Brunn. The McCormick Spice Company purchased the rights to Old Bay in 1990. If you’re wondering what’s actually in Old Bay Seasoning, the exact ingredients are a closely guarded secret, but the company reveals that the blend contains 18 different spices and herbs. Many cooks have tried to replicate this famous seasoning. We created our own simplified version of a bay leaf blend for this crab cake recipe that includes 6 different spices, the bulk of which are celery salt, ground bay leaves, and smoked paprika. The garlic, black pepper, and Dijon mustard in the crab cake mix add other essential flavors that aren’t found in the blend itself.

When cooking recipes like soups, bay leaves are left whole and removed from the pot before serving. In this case, you will need bay leaves ground into powder, as they will remain in it. You can do this by hand in a mortar and pestle. It only takes a few minutes but requires a little patience and elbow grease. If you want to get the job done faster, you can use a spice grinder or coffee grinder and blend the leaves several times until they turn into powder.

Can I fry crab cakes instead of baking them to make sliders?

Pan-frying is a standard way to cook crab cakes, and you can fry them instead of baking them if you prefer. They’ll turn out just fine either way. Follow the steps in the recipe to prepare the crab cake mixture and form the patties. Next, heat a little olive oil or avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. A cast iron skillet works great.

Once the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook for about 3-5 minutes until the underside is golden and crispy. Flip them carefully to minimize any risk of them falling apart and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the other side is also golden and crispy. The number of minutes may vary depending on the temperature of your pan, so check them carefully to make sure they don’t burn. After frying, you may choose to pat the crab cakes with paper towels to remove excess oil before serving.

While it’s more common to fry and bake crab cakes, grilling enthusiasts may be happy to know that you can also pull out your grill to make crab cakes. You’ll need to take a few precautions to keep them from falling apart. Adjust your recipe to minimize wet ingredients, pat the crab meat dry, and add extra binders like eggs and breadcrumbs to keep them from falling through the grill slats.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.