# Crab Cakes - Fried or Baked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333 "2019-08-27T20:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/1 "2019-08-27T20:29:04Z")
I’ve made crab cakes one way, and tonight I will make them the other way. The recipes are similar and consist of lump crab meat bread crumbs mayo Dijon mustard parsley salt/pepper egg Old Bay seasoning Worcestershire sauce Your basic recipe, nothing fancy. Which are better? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/2 "2019-08-27T21:17:00Z")
Broiled is where it’s at. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/3 "2019-08-27T21:29:24Z")
Fried. The answer is almost always fried. Fat is flavour. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/4 "2019-08-27T22:31:47Z")
I think that the crispy crust that frying imparts is key to a good crab cake. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/5 "2019-08-27T22:47:14Z")
The answer is \*always \*fried. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/6 "2019-08-27T23:24:06Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Fried. The answer is almost always fried. Fat is flavour. You can still get that flavo(u)r, by putting parchment paper on a baking sheet and brushing it with oil before putting the cakes on it. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/7 "2019-08-27T23:40:39Z")
yes. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/8 "2019-08-28T00:15:19Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yes. Yes! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/9 "2019-08-28T11:04:24Z")
Previously I’ve baked, then finished under the broiler. Now I have an air-fryer, so that’ll be my next attempt. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/10 "2019-08-28T11:05:49Z")
Cakes? Bah. Just gimme a pile of meat (already de-shelled for me because I ain’t got time for that) and some hot clarified butter for dippin’. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/11 "2019-08-28T11:48:08Z")
Either way. It’s crab cakes! You’re not going to ruin them, they just need to be crispy on surface and heated through. Baked is perfectly acceptable. Top it with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of Old Bay right when it comes out. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/12 "2019-08-28T12:20:09Z")
It is possible to get a beautiful crisp crust, exactly like you would get from frying them, by simply choosing to fry them. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/13 "2019-08-28T13:53:13Z")
And now I want crab cakes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/14 "2019-08-28T15:37:24Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Broiled is where it’s at. This works almost as well as frying. If your mix is right it will be good however you cook it, but frying and broiling give you a nicely browned and crispy top and bottom with their own flavor and texture that then blends in with the softer subtler flavors in the center. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/15 "2019-08-28T15:55:53Z")
I like to say “sautéed.” I only use enough fat to brown the suckers, and if you don’t say “fried,” you can get women to eat them. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/16 "2019-08-28T17:09:45Z")
Watching tv shows about how restaurants make their specialties - if it ain’t smoked brisket and BBQ, it’s fried something. Everything is deep-fried. EVERYTHING. Nothing is baked even though it could be…That’s why they do good business, fried stuff is tasty and as for myself, I don’t care for standing over boiling vats of oil that smells up the house. I will saute crab cakes in a pan at home. Out in a restaurant, I will have deep-fried sneakers, even though I AM ‘a woman’. I have no one to impress - bring on the deep fried Twinkies. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/17 "2019-08-28T17:15:13Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Cakes? Bah. Just gimme a pile of meat (already de-shelled for me because I ain’t got time for that) and some hot clarified butter for dippin’. Sounds like you are talking Dungeness, the best! It is what we have for Christmas dinner. Then, if, there is any left we make crab cakes. Fried of course. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/18 "2019-08-28T23:40:44Z")
I voted for fried but I make a very similar mix for stuffed mushrooms that I bake and are very good. The only real difference is the mushrooms have the chopped stems and probably some Parmesan (and of course they are stuffed in the caps). If you have good crab you can’t really go wrong. Unfortunately I ended up (long story) with about a pound and a half of canned lump (not jumbo lump) crab meat so I’ll let you know soon how they turn out. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/19 "2019-08-29T02:18:10Z")
I didn’t even know baked was an option. For me, the choices are “pan fried” or “deep fried”. Pan fried all the way baby. Keep your baked nonsense far away from me. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333/20 "2019-08-29T03:07:43Z")
ive never had them baked unless i bought a premade box at costco … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crab-cakes-fried-or-baked/839333.md?page=2)