Categories: How To MakeSeafood

The Crab Cake Sauce Recipes That Have it All

Crab cakes are scrumptious and impressive appetizers. But, the right choice of sauce or dip is very essential to enjoy them. Now, if you don’t want store-brought sauces for your seafood, you can prepare sauces and dips at home in less than 10-15 minutes.

Crab cake is a classic American dish, belonging particularly to the state of Maryland in the United States.

Who doesn’t love a bite of a tempting, perfectly-made crab cake? They are simply the perfect appetizers for parties or for family dinners. They are very popular among seafood lovers. Crab cakes are patties made of crab meat, mayonnaise, seasoning, bread crumbs, with or without vegetables and eggs.

The type of sauce used as an accompaniment plays an important role in bringing out the flavor of crab cakes. Interestingly, a variety of sauces go with them. Apart from tartar, Dijon, creamy caper, Remoulade, and cocktail sauces can be served with crab cakes.

Tartar Sauce

The tartar sauce (known as tartare in the United Kingdom) is the most popular accompaniment to seafood. The time required to make the following tartar sauce is 5 minutes (in case you have ready-made mayonnaise).

You will need:

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup finely chopped dill pickle
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of drained capers
¼ cup finely chopped onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk them to blend.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve chilled with warm crab cakes.

Dijon Sauce

Next to the tartar, Dijon sauce is the second most popular sauce for crab cakes. It can be made in less than 5 minutes, and with only 3 ingredients with the following recipe.

You will need:

¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Method of Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients to make a homogeneous mixture.
You can either use chilled mayonnaise or chill the sauce altogether later.
Serve chilled Dijon sauce with warm crab cakes.

Creamy Caper Sauce

Caper sauce can be served with a wide range of foods like seafood, meat, pasta, vegetables, etc. The creamy caper sauce brings out the flavor in grilled or fried fish dishes. Similar to those mentioned above, the preparation time for this sauce is 5-10 minutes.

You will need:

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup of freshly chopped parsley
½ cup of chopped drained capers
½ cup of freshly chopped chives
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Method of Preparation:

Mix and whisk all the ingredients in a bowl.
Chill the mixture and serve cold with your signature recipe of crab cakes.

* You can create another version of this sauce by substituting mayonnaise with cream or mascarpone.

Cocktail Sauce

The cocktail sauce is not limited only to shrimp. It can be served as an accompaniment to many other seafood dishes like crab cakes, oysters, etc. Less than 5 minutes are required to prepare this sauce.

You will need:

½ cup of ketchup
1 teaspoon of horseradish
1 spring of chopped parsley
½ teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon of lemon juice

Method of Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until they blend perfectly.
Refrigerate and serve chilled with crab cakes.

Remoulade Sauce

The original French Remoulade (also rémoulade) is a classic white mayonnaise based sauce. However, in Louisiana Creole cuisine, you may come across reddish Remoulade sauce. Although, it is not a popular condiment for crab cakes, it goes with it perfectly. The sauce is ready in 5-10 minutes.

You will need:

½ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons pickle relish
1 teaspoon ketchup
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley leaves
½ teaspoon of finely chopped capers
1 small finely chopped garlic clove
Salt and pepper to taste

Method of Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients, except salt and pepper.
Add salt and pepper later according to taste.
Put the sauce in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Serve cold with crab cakes.

* Although the classic Remoulade sauce is mayonnaise based, the Louisiana versions are found to be oil or vinegar based.

Now that you have a variety of sauces, you would want to have a quick and easy crab cake recipe. All the aforementioned sauces will go with crab cakes made in the following manner.

Recipe for Crab Cake

Typically, flaked crab meat is used to make crab cakes. The vegetables added here help in adding some more flavor to the cakes, and the mayonnaise helps in binding the meat and vegetables together.

You will need:

12 ounces of flaked crab meat
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (or Panko or crushed crackers)
1 beaten egg
¼ cup finely chopped red pepper
¼ cup finely chopped scallions
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)

Method of Preparation:

Divide the bread crumbs (or Panko) in equal parts.
In a large bowl, add crab meat, one part of bread crumbs, eggs, scallions, red pepper, mayonnaise, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.
Mix well so that all ingredients blend well.
Divide the mixture into equal portions. With slightly wet hands, shape the portions into balls.
Slightly flatten the balls. Roll them in the remaining part of bread crumbs.
In a nonstick pan, heat butter (or olive oil) and sauté crab cakes in it until the coating turns golden brown.
Serve with any of the sauces mentioned above of your choice.

* Baking the cakes in the oven for 375 degrees F, or grilling them, is a healthier alternative to frying in butter.

You must have observed that crab cakes and their condiments are easy to prepare at home. Secondly, as they are fresh and do not contain preservatives, they are healthy. So, you might consider making this appetizer for your family get-together or in-house parties. You are sure to win accolades for your culinary skills. As you cook, you might come across variations of your own. Please share them with other readers using our comments section. Good luck!