Crispy Crab Cakes with Lime-Dill Aioli

These delicious Crab Cakes make for a perfect quick seafood dinner, or pass them around as a party favorite. Both served with a zesty Lime and Dill Aioli.

Recipe Overview:

Crab cakes are my go-to dish when hosting a dinner party, mainly because they’re easy to make ahead of time and perfect to leave out as a bite size hors d’oeuvres.  When selecting crab for this dish I only use jumbo lump crab meat for two main reasons. One being you’ll spend less time picking through the meat for shells and the other is having oversized sweet lumps of crab meat in each bite. Don’t get me wrong, other parts of the crab meat work just as well and can be just as sweet in flavor. My favorite brand of crab meat is Phillips https://www.phillipsfoods.com/product/jumbo-lump-crab-meat-2/. Local grocery stores and your local Costco store usually have plenty of this crab meat stocked. Another bonus with this brand is the crab meat is fully cooked, and the quality is so exquisite you can eat it right out of the container.

This simple recipe should take no more than 10 minutes to prepare and about 15 minutes to cook. I do recommend using your clean hands as your main cooking tools to gently blend everything together and form into the cakes. This process will help keep the crab meat in its lump form, and not over mix the mixture into a ball of mush. No one enjoys eating a ball of mush. We will start by flash frying these crab cakes in a skillet just to give then a crispy golden brown coating, then finish them in a preheated oven. You can always pre fry the cakes for color, then store them in the refrigerator in an air tight container until you’re ready to cook, and up to 3 days. The lime dill aioli is just as easy to whip together. Aioli is a fancy term used for flavored mayonnaise, it pairs perfectly with seafood dishes and takes no more than 5 minutes to create. Feel free to swap out a lemon if you’re not a fan of lime.

Ingredients: 

Makes 6 large cakes, or about 15 bite size crab balls.

Preheat oven to 350* Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.

• 1 (8 ounce) can of Phillips jumbo lump crabmeat
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil for cooking
• Lemon wedges for serving

Lime dill aioli:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• zest of a lime
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• pinch of kosher salt
• pinch of ground pepper

Method:

Drain the crab meat of any excess water and set aside in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, dill, and salt. Pour the mixture over the crab meat and gently fold together with your clean fingers being carful not to over mix. Sprinkle the panko crumbs over the mixture and continue to fold in gently.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to 1 hour before cooking.

Heat the butter with the canola oil over medium-high heat in a bottom heavy skillet. When the butter is frothy, add the crab mixture shaped into 6 round balls. Careful not to overcrowd the skillet.

Gently fry until they reach a golden brown color. This will take about 2 minutes on each side on medium-high heat. Remove the cakes from the pan and place them onto a foil covered cookie sheet. Finish by baking them at 375° for an additional 8-10 minutes.

Lime dill aioli:

In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, zest of the lime, dijon mustard, dill, salt and pepper. Whisk until nicely blended and serve along side the crab cakes.

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Crispy Crab Cakes with Lime-Dill Aioli

Prep 15 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 30 mins

Author Catherine

Yield 6 Large Cakes

Jumbo lump crab cakes, pan seared  then finished in the oven  for a perfect crisp

Ingredients

• 1 8 ounce can of Phillips jumbo lump crabmeat
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup panko break crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 canola oil

Lime dill aioli:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
• zest of a lime
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• pinch of kosher salt
• pinch of ground pepper

Instructions

1. Drain the crabmeat of any excess water and set aside in a medium mixing bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, and salt.
3. Pour the mixture over the crab meat and gently fold with your fingers, but do not over mix.
4. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and dill over the mixture and gently fold in.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 hour.
6. In a nonstick skillet, heat the butter with the canola oil over medium-high heat.
7. When the butter is frothy, add the crab mixture shaped into 6 round balls. Careful not to overcrowd.
8. Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes each side. Reduce the heat to medium low if needed.
9. Remove from pan and place onto paper towel to absorb oil before plating.

Lime dill aioli:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
• zest of a lime
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• pinch of kosher salt
• pinch of ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

Store remaining aioli in the refrigerator using an air tight container.

Courses Dinner, Appetizer

Cuisine Seafood