Maryland Crab Cakes

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds lump blue crab meat
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning


DIRECTIONS

Make sure you pick over all the crab meat carefully to remove all bits of shell being careful not to break up the lumps of meat too much
Saute the onion, celery and optional bell pepper in butter until soft but not brown
Mix this cooked mixture with eggs, Worcestershire, mayonnaise, and Old Bay until well combined
Stir in breadcrumbs
Carefully fold in crab meat
Form into patties
Roll patties in panko crumbs (you can use fresh or dried bread crumbs also)
Refrigerate for at least one hour before cooking

You can either saute in a pan with a little oil or broil them until they are brown or heated through.

Serve with lemon slices, tarter sauce, cocktail sauce, or a good remoulade sauce (recipe will follow)