Grandmom's Maryland-Style Crabcakes

The crab feast was a key rite-of-passage as kid visiting my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Baltimore and southern Maryland. Dare you eat the fat? Can you crack the claws just right to get that pop-sicle of delicious claw meat? We spent many a visit to my aunt and uncle's home in Drayden crabbing off their dock. That night, my aunt would cook up the crabs in a speckle-painted tin stew pot and we'd have a big crab feast on a newspaper-covered table on the porch.

Here is Aunt Bette at my last visit, preparing her version of Grandmom's crab cakes:

1 C crab meat
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T mayonnaise
1 T mustard with horseradish
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
dash of tabasco
2 slices white bread, shredded into little bits (like the crab meat)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Shape the mixture into small patties, about 3 inches in diameter.

Broil just until set. Allow to cool and set, or freeze for future enjoyment!

I like to eat these with just a bit of lemon and tartar sauce, a caesar salad, and a nice summer wheat beer.

NOTE: If you ever have the occasion for boiling and preparing live crabs, I came across this nice little tutorial. Bring on the newspapers and paper towels! One of these days, I swear I'll host my own summer-time crab feast here in Austin.