These Baltimore-style crab cakes get a live-fire treatment on the Santa Maria grill. Instead of putting the delicate cakes directly on the grates, cook them in a cast-iron skillet or on a griddle plate positioned over the fire. You still get that buttery golden crust, but the wood or charcoal adds a subtle smoky flavor you simply won't get from the stovetop.
The key is controlling the heat with the Santa Maria's adjustable grate. Start with a solid bed of coals and position the cooking surface high enough that the butter sizzles without immediately burning. You're looking for roughly 375–400°F at the cooking surface.
Keep the crab mixture loose and handle it gently. Baltimore and Maryland-style crab cakes are at their best when you can still see and taste large pieces of crab instead of turning everything into a uniform seafood patty. Chilling the formed cakes before taking them to the grill also makes them significantly easier to flip.
Serve them straight from the fire with fresh lemon wedges, parsley, and your favorite remoulade or tartar sauce. They make an excellent appetizer, but a couple of larger cakes with slaw or grilled vegetables easily turns this into a full Santa Maria seafood dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh lump crab meat, picked over for shells
- 0.5 cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 0.25 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 0.5 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 0.25 cup butter, for cooking
- Lemon wedges, for serving
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Equipment
- Santa Maria grill
- Hardwood or lump charcoal
- Cast-iron skillet or flat-top/griddle plate
- Wide metal spatula
- Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- Build a medium-hot fire in the Santa Maria grill using hardwood, lump charcoal, or a combination of both.
- Allow the fire to burn down until you have a strong bed of glowing coals with minimal large flames.
- Position the Santa Maria grate high over the coals and allow a cast-iron skillet or griddle plate to preheat.
- Aim for a cooking-surface temperature of approximately 375–400°F.
- Add the crab meat to a large mixing bowl and check carefully for any remaining shell pieces.
- Add the mayonnaise, egg, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, parsley, breadcrumbs, and lemon juice.
- Season lightly with salt and black pepper.
- Gently fold everything together until just combined, taking care not to break up the larger pieces of crab.
- Divide the mixture into 8 to 10 crab cakes and gently press each one just enough to hold together.
- Place the crab cakes on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This helps them stay together over the live fire.
- Add about half of the butter to the preheated cast-iron skillet or griddle.
- Once the butter melts and begins to foam, carefully place the crab cakes onto the hot cooking surface.
- Cook for approximately 3 to 5 minutes without moving them, until the bottoms develop a deep golden-brown crust.
- If the butter begins browning too aggressively, raise the Santa Maria grate away from the coals rather than constantly moving the crab cakes.
- Carefully flip each crab cake with a wide spatula.
- Add the remaining butter around the cakes.
- Cook the second side for another 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown.
- Cook until the centers are hot and reach approximately 145°F.
- Remove the crab cakes from the grill and allow them to rest for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Santa Maria Fire Management
- Keep the crab cakes over glowing coals rather than direct flames.
- Use the adjustable grate to control temperature instead of letting the skillet become excessively hot.
- If the butter starts smoking heavily, raise the grate several inches.
- For a little more wood-fired flavor, toss a small hardwood split onto the edge of the coal bed shortly before cooking.
- Avoid heavy smoke. Crab has a delicate flavor and only needs a light touch of wood smoke.
Serving Suggestions
These Santa Maria crab cakes are excellent with remoulade, tartar sauce, grilled lemon halves, coleslaw, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes, or corn cooked over the same fire.
For sandwiches, make the crab cakes slightly larger and serve them on toasted brioche buns with lettuce, tomato, lemony mayonnaise, and a little extra Old Bay.