There is so much meat in these Dungeness Crab Cakes I should just call this recipe, crab balls. Sweet and tender Dungeness crab meat is piled high and the unrivaled star of this recipe. Garnish with raw red onion, a tomato, lemon, fresh parsley, and a dab of homemade tartar sauce, and you’ll be in heaven!

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“SAY GOODNIGHT”

-Frankie

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WTF are Maryland Style Crab Cakes?

Maryland is known for their blue crabs, and for good reason, they’re the gold standard of crab cakes. Made with old bay seasoning and fresh blue crab meat, right from the Chesapeake bay, there is a lot to love about Maryland crab cakes.

What really makes a Maryland crab cake is the breadcrumbs or crackers to meat ratio. They use a TON of meat, and its seasoned with a classic Maryland spice blend, Oldbay. You gotta have the oldbay.

So obviously we are making Dungeness crab cakes, so we aren’t using blue crabs. But don’t fret, Dungies are a superior crab, which I defend below. It’s the attitude of the Maryland crab that we are channeling here.

Only the best, freshest ingredients, and no holding back on them. So in short, Maryland style is basically, using a sh*t load of meat, seasoning with Old Bay, and using super fresh garnishes.

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Why Dungeness Crab?

Dungeness crabs are my favorite crabs, hands down. Living in Oregon, I will admit to regional bias, but its my proximity to this beautiful resource that has opened my eyes to how special they are.

I prefer Dungeness crabs over other species for four main reasons; Flavor, price, value, and sustainability. Let’s break those down a bit.

Dungeness Crab Flavor

Dungeness crab are known for being mouthwatering-ly sweet, mellow, and even slightly nutty. It’s body meat is super tender, while the legs are a bit more firm. The make the BEST Dungeness crab cakes.

Dungeness Crab Price

If you get Dungeness crab legs at the grocery, in season, you can typically expect to pay around 8-12$ a pound.

Dungeness Crab Value

Price is a factor in the value, but it goes beyond that. Dungeness crab is a better value because about 25% of the crab is meat. Thats a lot compared to snow crabs or stone crabs. Not everyone can afford to eat Dungeness crab cakes all the time, so value is a big deal.

Dungeness Crab Sustainability

Dungeness crabs are one of the more sustainable seafood options out there. They are harvested using traps, rings, or even by hand. They don’t have to travel nearly as far as snow or king crabs, which come from the remote Bering Sea.

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Dungeness Crab Season

You can have Dungeness crab cakes all year long, but there are better times than others to make them. The commercial season for Dungeness crab typically runs from December to July. You can expect to find the cheapest price in the winter and spring months, when crabs are being caught by the boat load.

As the year grows older the crabs begin to molt and their shells become weaker, making it more of a challenge to travel and ship them.

However, if want to get out there and snag your own crabs for Dungeness crab cakes, you should go and try your luck! In Oregon you can crab year round in estuaries, with a shellfish license. You can crab in the ocean all year except for mid October to the end of november.

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Buying Dungeness Crab Meat

Sure its pretty labor intensive to buy whole crab and pick all the meat required to make Dungeness crab cakes. You need about a pound. Not to mention it would take some serious self control not to just take that sweet meat straight to the face hole.

But trust me, this is the way to go. Dungeness crabs are super easy to break down compared to other crab species. The only tool we use is a butter knife and the know how.

In contrast, the blue crab is smaller and MUCH more compact making it tricky to get the meat. Which there is much less of. With Dungeness crab, the shells are softer and there is a lot more room in the crab, so its far easier extracting the meat.

You’ll save a lot of money doing it this way too, buying picked meat can be really expensive. Picked Dungeness crab meat can run you upwards of $50 for half a pound. If you wanna go that route, the Seattle Fish Company is a reputable fish purveyor.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, Dungeness crabs are generally around 25% meat. That’s a great ratio in the crab world. So one two pound Dungeness crab for $25 bucks would yield two REALLY solid crab cakes.

If you find yourself with a whole crab and without the energy to make crab cakes, thats okay. Try our Beer & Old Bay Steamed Dungeness Crab Clusters. We do em the same way Frankie did blue crabs in Maryland, with a sh*t ton of old bay and red wine vinegar.

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How to Clean and Break Down Dungeness Crab

Here’s a video on how to break down a Dungeness crab and get the meat you’ll need to make Dungeness crab cakes.

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DUNGENESS CRAB CAKE RECIPE

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Dungeness Crab Cake Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this Dungeness crab cake recipe.

• Crab Meat: Fresh Dungeness crab Meat baby, about a quarter pound per crab cake. We’re not messing around here.

• Mayo & Mustard: Use a high quality mayonnaise and dijon mustard for your Dungeness crab cakes. We like Dukes and Grey Poupon.

• Binder: We like to use Ritz cracker crumbs because they’re super buttery and they crumble super well. Alliteratively, you could use saltines or breadcrumbs. You’ll also need an egg.

• Tartar Sauce: We make our own with mayonnaise, fresh dill, dill pickles, salt, and sour cream. Store bought is acceptable though.

• Seasoning: Worcestershire sauce, salt, and Old Bay. This is non negotiable, gotta have that Old Bay seasoning baby. Optionally you can toss in a jalapeño for a little kick, don’t go crazy, just use half a pepper.

• Garnish: A Dungeness crab cake deserves super fresh produce for its garnish. It’ll really make everything pop. Lemon wedges, a fat tomato slice, chopped raw red onion, and parsley.

How to Make Dungeness Crab Cakes

Follow these step by step instructions to make this Dungeness crab cake recipe.

Step 1: Combine Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce sauce, dijon mustard, parsley, salt, old bay, egg, and the jalapeño if using.

Use a whisk to mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust with salt & pepper accordingly.

Step 2: Crumble & Crab

Add the crab meat to the bowl and crumble 12-14 ritz crackers over top. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together.

Step 3: Mold & Chill

Preheat the oven to 450F degrees.

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour and up to overnight. Once chilled take out of the fridge and form four crab cakes with your hands. This step helps make them more sturdy and easier bake.

Top with melted butter, lemon juice, a lemon wedge, and in true Marylander style, another pinch of old bay.

Step 4: Bake

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Step 5: Garnish & Serve Dungeness crab Cakes

Remove from the oven and transfer each crab cake onto a tomato slice. Top with red onion, freshly chopped parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve alongside cocktail sauce or tartar sauce.

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Storing Dungeness Crab Cakes

I doubt you’ll have leftovers, but if you have an emergency and can’t finished your Dungeness crab cake, it’ll be fine in the refrigerator for a day or two. Just store it in an air tight container.

You could freeze the uncooked crab cake patties for a couple months. Don’t top with the melted butter and lemon juice, put them in a freezer safe container and remove as much air as possible.

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More Dungeness Crab Recipes

Dungeness crabs really are the best crabs out there. I don’t mean to discriminate, I love ALL crabs, but if enjoyed this Dungeness crab cake recipe and you need help finding some more dungy recipes, we got you covered.

Try our Beer & Old Bay Steamed Dungeness Crab Clusters. We do em the same way Frankie did blue crabs in Maryland, with a sh*t ton of old bay and a killer red wine vinegar sauce.

Don’t waste those crab carcausess! They make a kick ass shellfish stock, check out the recipe here. Crab Stock Recipe.

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Dungeness Crab FAQ’s

When is Dungeness crab season?

In Oregon, the commercial Dungeness crab season typically runs from December to August. It operates on quotas and the season can fluctuate.

How do you clean a Dungeness crab?

We go a video that shows you exactly what to do! Scroll back up or check it out here: Video Link.

How do you store Dungeness crabs?

Fresh cooked crab can last in the fridge for up to 3-4 days if it is stored properly. To store cooked crab in the fridge, place the crab in the coldest part of the fridge. If you freeze Dungeness crab meat, use a vacuum sealer to remove all the air, as it will cause freezer burn and make the meat rubbery. These cooked Dungeness crab cakes will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Are Dungeness crabs sustainable?

Dungeness crabs are one of the more sustainable seafood options out there. They are harvested using traps, rings, or even by hand. They don’t have to travel nearly as far as snow or king crabs, which come from the remote Bering Sea.

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