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Stacked crab cakes on. plate, served with lemon wedges.
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Smoked Crab Cakes

This smoked crab cakes recipe takes this classic seafood dish to the next level. They're perfectly breaded and smoked to perfection.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Chill Time, if necessary, divided1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 228kcal
Author: Karin and Ken

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lump crabmeat picked over for shells
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 celery ribs chopped
  • ½ cup onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces shrimp peeled, deveined, and tails removed
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¾ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

  • Get out and measure your ingredients.
    Overhead photo of all the ingredients on a table.
  • If your crabmeat has a mild odor of any kind, place inside bowl of milk and soak, totally covered, refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.
  • Crush panko in resealable bag with rolling pin or mallet. Transfer crushed crumbs to skillet to toast, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until nice golden color, less than 5 minutes. Dump crumbs on to shallow plate and add in ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ of pepper. Set aside.
    Panko crushed in a resealable bag with a rolling pin.
  • Place onion, garlic and celery into a food processor and blend for 7 or 8 pulses. Preheat skillet on medium heat and melt butter. Add vegetables to skillet with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Stir frequently until tender and most of the moisture has evaporated. About 5 minutes. Dump vegetables into a good sized mixing bowl.
    Sauté of onion, garlic an celery placed in a mixing bowl.
  • Gently press crabmeat against fine strainer to remove as much milk as possible without destroying any lumps of crabmeat. Discard milk.
    Milk removed from the crab meat using a strainer.
  • Add shrimp to food processor and pulse 15 times. Add cream and pulse 5 more times. Scrape down sides of processor bowl as needed.
    shrimps and cream in a food processor
  • Add to bowl with cool vegetables. Add hot pepper sauce, lemon juice, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, and stir until incorporated.
    hot pepper sauce, lemon juice, mustard, Old Bay seasoning added to the cooled vegetable sauté in the mixing bowl.
  • Add crabmeat and carefully fold until blended.
    Carefully mix the crab meat inside the mixing bowl.
  • Make 8 balls, about the same size, and place on baking sheet covered in parchment. Using a spatula press until patties are ½ inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour, if not a little longer.
    crab patties placed on a prepared baking sheet. A spatula is used to flatten the patties.
  • Press each crab cake firmly into panko crumbs until covered.
    crab patties placed in a bowl with panko crumbs to be coated in the crumbs.
  • Place on plate and go to your smoker.
    All patties covered in panko crumbs and placed on a white plate.
  • Preheat smoker to 250 degrees.
    raw crab cakes placed in a smoker.
  • Smoke crab cakes for 30 minutes or 155 degrees.
    crab cakes cooked inside a smoker.
  • Serve.
    crab cakes served on a white plate with lemon wedges.
  • With aioli and lemon!
    Crab cakes served with aioli and lemon wedges.
  • Enjoy every bite!
    closeup photo of a forkful of smoked crab cake.

Notes

  • Stir constantly when toasting the panko to be sure it doesn't burn.
  • Always use a gentle but firm touch with your crab meat to ensure it stays nice and lumpy.
  • Be sure you let your vegetables cool completely before adding them to the shrimp puree so the cream doesn't curdle.
  • If you're looking for ideas for what to serve with crab cakes you have definitely come to the right place. We have an amazing list for you to check out.

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 271IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 1mg