Combine the crabmeat and milk in a bowl and soak for 20 minutes in the fridge, making sure the crabmeat is submerged.
8 oz lump crabmeat,, 1 cup milk
Drain and press out excess liquid. Lay crab on a paper towel lined plate and pat dry.
Combine the scallions, butter, egg yolk, mayo, mustard, hot sauce, and Old Bay.
2 scallions, 1 tbs unsalted butter, 1 large egg yolk, 1 tbs mayo, 2 tspn Dijon mustard, 1 tspn hot sauce, 1/2 tspn Old Bay seasoning
Fold in 3 tbs of the crushed crackers and the crab meat.
7 or so saltine crackers
Using your hands, form the mixture into 2 large portions in a ball shape.
Press gently to flatten the bottom and leave the topped domed.
Using a small plate, spread the rest of the cracker crumbs in an even layer.
Gently, press the crab cakes into the crumbs to coat the top and bottom.
Chill
Place the crab cakes on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Gently cover with plastic wrap or foil
Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 8.
Cook the crab cakes
When ready to cook, preheat the broiler with the rack positioned about 6" away from the element. This is usually the top postition.
Grease an oven safe skillet or baking dish with the remaining 1 teas butter and place the crab cakes in the pan.
Slide the oven onto the upper rack, under the broiler.
Broil until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes under a watchful eye as broilers can differ from oven to oven).
Carefully remove from the oven and check that the crab is heated through and reached an internal temperature of 140F with an instant read thermometer.
Allow the crab cakes to cool 3 to 5 minutes before serving.
Serve the Crab Cake Sandwiches
Arrange crab cakes on over toasted buns with lettuce and tomatoes for a crab cake sandwich.
Serve with lemon wedges and tartar or cocktail sauce if desired.
Notes
It's hard to imagine these Maryland crab cakes not being served with crisp fries and malt vinegar. Otherwise, they are perfect atop a light fricassee salad, as an appetizer, or as the main course if you don't want a sandwich.You can use fresh picked lump crab meat or canned crab meat as long as it's jumbo or lump crab meat. Make sure the label reads lump and not claw meat. Also, check to see that it says blue crab if you're going for authenticity. Altho I use canned crab meat from tin cans for some recipes, I find the crab for this in the seafood or meat department in plastic tubs. This recipe makes 2 generous crab cakes, however, you could use it to make 4 smaller crab cakes for an appetizer, if desired. From: Cooks Country Aug / Sept 2014 (and every single Eastern Shore native there ever was).