# Keto Crab Cakes



## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

I been on a bit of a crab cake kick lately and with my wife trying to go gluten-free I decided to take a tried and true crab cake recipe and make it gluten-free and also keto friendly. Below is a recipe for a Maryland style crab cake in it's simplest form, it's not mine just one I've held onto. I tried tons of different recipes but the one that I like the best is with the use of Ritz crackers. I've tried bread crumbs, panko, saltines, moistened bread but I favor the Ritz crackers. To make it GF and Keto, simply substitute crushed pork rinds for the cracker crumbs and omit the salt.

*Maryland Crab Cakes* (makes 6)

1lb.fresh lump crabmeat picked through for shells
1 Egg
2T Mayo
1/2c. Crushed Ritz crackers _OR_ use crushed pork rinds
2t. Old Bay
1t. Dijon mustard
1/2t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4t. Tabasco sauce
1/4t. Lemon juice
1/4t. Salt (omit if using pork rinds)
A small amount of cracked black pepper
2T fresh chopped parsley 

Mix egg and all your wet ingredients. Add pork rinds, Old Bay and parsley and mix well.  GENTLY fold in crab meat. You wanna a loose mixture and be careful not to break up any lumps of meat. Gently shape into form and placed on a greased cookie sheet. After this, I throw my formed crab cakes into the refrigerator for at least an hour to help bind all the ingredients. 

Broil on middle rack of oven until crab cakes are lightly golden on top. 12-15 minutes. I never fry mine and I don’t bother flipping them.

Using pork rinds here to grind into crumbs. The free bag was a snack for another day! 








Here's the crab cakes about to go into the oven. I sprinkle a little additional Old Bay over the top. You could see that they hold their shape but still retain a loose mixture.






Broil on the middle rack until golden. This takes me about 12-15 minutes. Watch them closely. If they start to brown too quickly, move them to a lower rack in the oven. 






Here's what they look like when done.






Served with a side of steamed broccoli for dinner. 






These are pretty good! I got the idea for these after my wife brought home pre-made crab cakes from a hipster health food store. They charged $10 a piece! So I told her we could make our own, and better tasting ones for a fraction of the price.


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

BrianGSDTexoma
 here's the recipe you asked about in Robert's thread.


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## gmc2003 (Aug 1, 2021)

Looks great xray. I haven't had a good crabcake in about 18 years. When my daughters LL softball team played in the Eastern finals in Delaware.  I like using Ritz crackers for stuffed shrimp. Something about the taste - ummm

Point for sure
Chris


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## kilo charlie (Aug 1, 2021)

Looks great! 

How would one freeze/reheat extra ones (if you know)?


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Aug 1, 2021)

Incredible!  Those look so good.


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## DanMcG (Aug 1, 2021)

Great idea with the pork rinds, I'm going to give this a try. Thanks


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## motocrash (Aug 1, 2021)

xray said:


> These are pretty good! I got the idea for these after my wife brought home pre-made crab cakes from a hipster health food store. They charged $10 a piece! So I told her we could make our own, and better tasting ones for a fraction of the price.


And indeed you did!  
That crab looked to be jumbo lump, excellent!


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## Central PA Cowboy (Aug 1, 2021)

Awesome, 

 xray
 ! And thanks for the recipe!


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## TNJAKE (Aug 1, 2021)

Looks delicious joe. Showed these to Emily so it's on the shortlist


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

gmc2003 said:


> Looks great xray. I haven't had a good crabcake in about 18 years. When my daughters LL softball team played in the Eastern finals in Delaware.  I like using Ritz crackers for stuffed shrimp. Something about the taste - ummm
> 
> Point for sure
> Chris



Thanks Chris. I eat them regularly and then it seems like I don't make them again for 1-2 years. With the price of crab meat these days, the thought of making them with shrimp is pretty intriguing.


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> Looks great!
> 
> How would one freeze/reheat extra ones (if you know)?



Thanks KC!

Extra ones!? Never heard of that lol. If I were to freeze them, I would mix and shape and then freeze the raw crab cakes. Thaw and then cook. They should thaw out pretty fast, also you can most likely fry them and flip them without having them break apart.


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## lowcountrygamecock (Aug 1, 2021)

We made crab cakes about twice a month for a while. The whole family loves them. I was buying crab meat at $15 a pound and cringed then. We kept buying until it hit $22 and then I had enough. It was $27 last time I priced it.  Way too pricey for me. 
We’ve done the shrimp burgers/cakes before and they’re good.  We normally catch our own shrimp in the fall. I haven’t gotten into big ones the last couple years but the small ones work great for shrimp cakes.
We buy crushed pork rinds in a big tub at Costco. They’re heartburn City but not bad as a substitute for bread crumbs in things like that and meat loaf.


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

BrianGSDTexoma said:


> Incredible!  Those look so good.



Thanks Brian. They taste good with the pork rinds too. 



DanMcG said:


> Great idea with the pork rinds, I'm going to give this a try. Thanks



Thanks Dan. Hopefully you like them.



motocrash said:


> And indeed you did!
> That crab looked to be jumbo lump, excellent!



Thanks Moto. They were quite a few nice lumps in there, I tried my best not to break them all up.


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

Central PA Cowboy said:


> Awesome,
> 
> xray
> ! And thanks for the recipe!



Thank you! It's a good one too, one I've enjoyed for awhile.



TNJAKE said:


> Looks delicious joe. Showed these to Emily so it's on the shortlist



Thanks Jake. These were something Stacy was hungry for, I just made them gluten free for her. With the price of crab, mama can't get her way all the time so these will be done infrequently.


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## sawhorseray (Aug 1, 2021)

That's a fine step-by-step and a recipe I'm going to be trying out Joe, I find the pork rinds very interesting indeed! I'll have to substitute Dungeness cabb meat, but I think the recipe is killer, Like! RAY


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

lowcountrygamecock said:


> We made crab cakes about twice a month for a while. The whole family loves them. I was buying crab meat at $15 a pound and cringed then. We kept buying until it hit $22 and then I had enough. It was $27 last time I priced it.  Way too pricey for me.
> We’ve done the shrimp burgers/cakes before and they’re good.  We normally catch our own shrimp in the fall. I haven’t gotten into big ones the last couple years but the small ones work great for shrimp cakes.
> We buy crushed pork rinds in a big tub at Costco. They’re heartburn City but not bad as a substitute for bread crumbs in things like that and meat loaf.



The crab meat I got was $25/lb which is cringeworthy for me. One of the things that helps ease the pain is knowing that if we went out for a crab cake dinner, there would be no way it would cost us less than $25 for two people. I try to use that logic, but I just can't justify the price all the time.

I need to give shrimp cakes a go. I make tuna patties a lot from canned tuna, those are really good and cheap but they're entirely different.


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## xray (Aug 1, 2021)

sawhorseray said:


> That's a fine step-by-step and a recipe I'm going to be trying out Joe, I find the pork rinds very interesting indeed! I'll have to substitute Dungeness cabb meat, but I think the recipe is killer, Like! RAY



Thanks Ray. The pork rinds were a nice substitute, definitely not needed unless you're trying to go gluten free or keto.  Dungeness crab will work and the recipe is nice because it's minimal filler. 

At first when you add the crab to the mixture, you're gonna wonder where everything else went, but after a few mixes the mixture will start lightly binding. You want it loose but still able to hold it's shape when forming.


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## tx smoker (Aug 2, 2021)

Those look fantastic Joe!! I can speak from experience that the recipe he posted is outstanding!! It's what I used in the shrimp and catfish cakes I made last week and posted. This is real deal stuff!!

Robert


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## Bearcarver (Aug 2, 2021)

Looks Great Joe!!!
The Bear Swiped your Recipe!!
Nice Job!
Like.

Bear


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## browneyesvictim (Aug 2, 2021)

Those look amazing! I love all things seafood and those are some top-notch cakes!


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## SmokinVOLfan (Aug 2, 2021)

Ladies and Gentleman...







Good to see your smiling face Joseph! The crab cakes look excellent. Thanks for posting the recipe. Hope to see more of you carousel worthy material posted in the near future!


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## SmokinAl (Aug 2, 2021)

Those look awesome!
I love crab cakes & keto or no keto, I love that recipe!
Bookmark for sure!
Al


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## xray (Aug 2, 2021)

tx smoker said:


> Those look fantastic Joe!! I can speak from experience that the recipe he posted is outstanding!! It's what I used in the shrimp and catfish cakes I made last week and posted. This is real deal stuff!!
> 
> Robert



Thank you Robert for the kind words, you have me thinking hard about shrimp and possibly crawfish  cakes.




Bearcarver said:


> Looks Great Joe!!!
> The Bear Swiped your Recipe!!
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> ...



Thanks John! That recipe has been a go to for awhile. I hope you enjoy it if you try it. With the price of crab meat these days, it may be cheaper for me to drive and catch them myself!


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## Smoking Allowed (Aug 2, 2021)

xray said:


> I been on a bit of a crab cake kick lately and with my wife trying to go gluten-free I decided to take a tried and true crab cake recipe and make it gluten-free and also keto friendly. Below is a recipe for a Maryland style crab cake in it's simplest form, it's not mine just one I've held onto. I tried tons of different recipes but the one that I like the best is with the use of Ritz crackers. I've tried bread crumbs, panko, saltines, moistened bread but I favor the Ritz crackers. To make it GF and Keto, simply substitute crushed pork rinds for the cracker crumbs and omit the salt.
> 
> *Maryland Crab Cakes* (makes 6)
> 
> ...


I make crab cakes a lot, but always have used bread crumbs or the Ritz crackers. Pork skins are an interesting twist that I'll try next time.


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## xray (Aug 2, 2021)

browneyesvictim said:


> Those look amazing! I love all things seafood and those are some top-notch cakes!



Thank you! I love my seafood as well. These are nice because there’s minimal filler, not bready like some of them can be. Those are good too when they’re heavily breaded and fried but that’s something I want to eat between a bun and some remoulade sauce.




SmokinVOLfan said:


> Ladies and Gentleman...
> View attachment 506462
> 
> 
> Good to see your smiling face Joseph! The crab cakes look excellent. Thanks for posting the recipe. Hope to see more of you carousel worthy material posted in the near future!



Thanks John, I’ll surface somewhere, eventually. Like a bad penny.



SmokinAl said:


> Those look awesome!
> I love crab cakes & keto or no keto, I love that recipe!
> Bookmark for sure!
> Al



Thanks Al! Either way comes out pretty good but there’s something I just like with the ritz crackers, must be that buttery goodness!


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## xray (Aug 2, 2021)

Smoking Allowed said:


> I make crab cakes a lot, but always have used bread crumbs or the Ritz crackers. Pork skins are an interesting twist that I'll try next time.



They are pretty good with the crushed pork rinds. Just omit the salt when using them but they held together just fine without anymore additional ingredients, which is nice because a crab cake should be on the simpler side.


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## jcam222 (Aug 2, 2021)

Joe these look great!! I’ll be giving this a go at some point for sure. We’ve used pork rinds a fair bit for breading stuff. A real crazy pork rind idea was breakfast cereal. Break up regular flavor rinds, toss in a mix of melted butter , artificial sweetener and cinnamon. In a bowl of almond milk it’s AWESOME.


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## xray (Aug 3, 2021)

jcam222 said:


> Joe these look great!! I’ll be giving this a go at some point for sure. We’ve used pork rinds a fair bit for breading stuff. A real crazy pork rind idea was breakfast cereal. Break up regular flavor rinds, toss in a mix of melted butter , artificial sweetener and cinnamon. In a bowl of almond milk it’s AWESOME.



Thanks Jeff! I’m not a big cereal eater but I think I would want to try a bowl of that just out of curiosity, it’s definitely tempting!


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## lowcountrygamecock (Aug 3, 2021)

xray said:


> The crab meat I got was $25/lb which is cringeworthy for me. One of the things that helps ease the pain is knowing that if we went out for a crab cake dinner, there would be no way it would cost us less than $25 for two people. I try to use that logic, but I just can't justify the price all the time.
> 
> I need to give shrimp cakes a go. I make tuna patties a lot from canned tuna, those are really good and cheap but they're entirely different.



My wife  keeps saying that and she’s right but it still sucks when it was $15 a pound not long ago. I live in the coast and have access to catch my own but it’s a pain to pick out all that meat.


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