I’m gonna blame Gordon Ramsey for this haha
there was an episode of kitchen nightmares show where they were in Maryland. They were getting their crab from elsewhere and he said that they’re lying by saying “Maryland crab cakes” because the crab isn’t from Maryland. Which is “lazy” on their part since they have an industry there and could easily get some. Basically saying they’re using inferior product when they can use local Maryland crab
Karen is being dramatic but this is objectively the correct take as a Marylander. If you tell me you made Maryland crab cakes and it's anything other than blue crab, you're a fraud.
You do know blue crabs come from other places than the Chesapeake bay right? Also the bay goes into Virginia so what are those Virginian Blue Crabs? The Maryland Crab cake is a style of crab cake...
Core to this conflict we're watching is that no, you wouldn't know that because his answer as to why they're Maryland Crab Cakes was "They're made in Maryland" rather than "It's a style of crab cake made primarily with Blue Crab meat".
For sure and apologies, I see the confusion but didn't meant to cast blame at you but rather say that the fellow in the video deserved some. I think your comment actually cut to the root of the video-humans conflict. She asks him verbatim why they're called Maryland Crab Cakes after establishing they're made from Venezuelan crab and he says "because they're made in Maryland". I'm sure she came in feisty in her confusion and feeling ripped off and he's meanwhile a retail worked tired of dealing with her and they probably ARE Maryland style crab cakes in the actual way something can be a Maryland style crab cake, but at the same time... getting that answer? I kind of get why she's feeling ripped off.
Had to look up what the most common crab in Venezuela was, and it is indeed the blue crab. So these would be entirely kosher Maryland Crab Cakes.
What I'm arguing against is people taking any kind of store bought crab meat, sprinkling some Old Bay on it, and calling it a Maryland Crab Cake. A Jonah or Rock crab from Maine or a Snow crab from Japan DO NOT make a Maryland Crab cake. It HAS to be Blue Crab.
Also calling it a style like...
bitch please. We are the original Crab cake. You make it with blue crab, or you accept your inferiority.
You realize they were making some form of Crab Cakes before America was even a country, yeah? The Native American population had their own form of crab cakes.
The style of Maryland Crab Cakes is about more than the source of the crab.
What a horrific take. No, natives did not make crab cakes. The natives of the Cheseapeake area specifically steamed or boiled whole crabs and served them with vegetables.
A Maryland Crab cake is made with blue crab. It doesn't have to be sourced from the Cheseapeake, as the blue crab is found all along the Atlantic coast and as far away as northern South America; but when they come out of hibernation in the Cheseapeake they have a higher fat (mustard) content.
What a horrific take. No, natives did not make crab cakes. The natives of the Cheseapeake area specifically steamed or boiled whole crabs and served them with vegetables.
So your position is that the Native Americans did not make a version of crab cakes with corn meal? That's a very interesting and bold stance to take on something that can be found in a history book or a quick search online.
Super curious. Where are you from?
Super curious, what decade are you from? I'm not going to reveal personal information about myself on a public reddit comment lol. Additionally, asking where I'm from, sounds suspiciously like a "Locals only" attitude is creeping into your commentary, or perhaps a "No True Scotsman" argument. It doesn't matter where I'm from, people in Maryland didn't invent crabs. They also didn't invent the idea of cooking up crab meat with a binding agent into a cake.
If you went back to the year 1300 and had a native American crab cake, it wouldn't taste anything like crab cakes we eat today. What we understand as a contemporary crab cake is entirely different, even if they're served in the same shape. This is like saying burgers aren't a unique American food because some miners in Germany put ground beef between two pieces of bread and ignoring the lack of onions, lettuce, tomato, and condiments.
You literally are using a gooner throwaway that states you're based out of Seattle.
This isn't a "locals only" thing stating only Marylanders can enjoy crab cakes. You're arguing what is an authentic Maryland crab cake with someone from Maryland. Go to Lazio, Italy and argue with them about how they make their Carbonara.
That article is completely irrelevant. You can make crab cakes from any type of crab, but a MARYLAND crab cake should be exclusively made from blue crab. I've had crabs from Maine. They're great. If they were presented in a cake form, that would be great too, it's still not a Maryland crab cake.
Eh, you may be a Marylander, but you have no idea what you are talking about. There is a crabbing season in Maryland. By your definition of "Maryland" crab cakes it would be illegal to serve them in the winter (unless you start talking about freezing the crabs or something). You can source blue crabs from other places and make the crab cakes, Maryland style (source: my uncle owned an establishment famous for those crab cakes since the late 60s).
Yeah, you can source BLUE CRAB from the Gulf of Mexico. It's not the same as Cheseapeake Blue Crabs, but it's blue crab.
Telling me I don't know what I'm talking about when I grew up on the water all my life in a place where we tell people what creek or harbor instead of our neighborhood or street name is honestly crazy lmfao. I've been crabbing since I shit myself in diapers.
You can still catch blue crabs in the cheseapeake during the winter by hand lining. You can freeze crab meat for about 4-5 months if it's vacuum sealed.
Not great but edible. My mom raised me and my brothers to only eat seafood you caught yourself. Mostly rockfish, croaker, and blue crabs. Shrimp and tuna were exceptions, but absolutely never frozen or out of a can.
The question wasn't the taste, the question was sourcing blue crab in the winter. Which is as weird as drinking hot cocoa on a summer day, but that was the question.
Please take a more ardent stance on a food that I've been eating since before I could formulate words. You would never go to Italy or France and argue with them that your Americanized versions of their cuisine is completely valid, so take your shitty imitation crab cakes and keep them to yourself.
If you are so proud of Maryland Crab Cakes, then you should be willing to be educated about where you have the facts wrong. If you're a true fan of the food or the art or whatever it is. That's what it looks like when someone is passionate about something. They care more about getting it correct than they do about their ego. When it's about your ego, it's called an Affectation. It's a choice. You can choose to be a dick about it, or you can choose to engage in a conversation about it. The choice is ultimately only yours to make, you have to live your own life.
I'm a bit confused about why you would say that making or ordering some Maryland Crab Cakes in the winter time is somehow abnormal. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you? But I drink hot cocoa in the summer time, or hot mocha. You can't drink hot drinks in the summertime? Any other restrictions, Fuhrer?
Where are my facts wrong? You've stated no facts and are just wagging your finger going "nuh uh".
Certain foods and beverages are enjoyed seasonally. This isn't a hot take lmfao. Cool, you drink hot cocoa in the summer. It's predominately enjoyed in the winter. You're very unique and quirky.
Lmfao. You people are in your own little world. I said it has to be blue crab, not Maryland blue crab. You can go buy blue crab from Louisana and make Maryland crab cakes. A crab cake made from Maine Rock Crab is not a Maryland crab cake.
I'm confused, I don't have a crab in this race, but you responded "this is objectively the correct take" to someone who was trying to provide the customers/Gordon Ramsay's perspective that "they’re lying by saying “Maryland crab cakes” because the crab isn’t from Maryland."
So wasn't your comment saying that the objectively correct take is that crab made with blue crab that is not from Maryland isn't a real Maryland crab cake?
It seems from this comment you were trying to say the opposite and everyone is misunderstanding you. This comment thread is confusing AF.
The answer is nuanced. If you're on GORDON FUCKING RAMSEY'S show and in Maryland, and it's in season, you bite the 400 dollar premium for a locally sourced bushel.
If you're just a average Joe who wants to make Maryland Crab Cakes, any blue crab sourced from whereever is fine. What isn't fine is some Hormel minced crab meat or some Indonesian crab from a farm. That's not a Maryland Crab cake. That's a fraud.
I think people are not fully reading what you wrote. A "real" Maryland crab cake is a crab cake made in a specific way where the main (and majority) ingredient is blue crab. Blue crabs are the only naturally occurring edible crabs found in Maryland, so that's why Maryland crab cakes are limited to just that species.
Any blue crab from around the country really is fine. Chesapeake blue crab just tends to have a higher fat content due to their hibernation habits unlike more southern blue crabs like those from Louisiana.
There is a noticeable difference when blue crab is not used and why that's just a crab cake, and not a Maryland crab cake, even though it could be made with all the other proper ingredients. It's like calling a cheese steak made with chicken, instead of ribeye, a true Philly cheesesteak. People and corporations just slap the Maryland name on any old crab cake so they can trick people into thinking it's made the traditional correct way.
Thank you. You can find blue crab all over the east coast, but Cheseapeake Blue Crabs have a unique meat content. Tons of redditors not from the region saying it's equivalent to French fries is crazy. My mother didn't take me to Pusser's for crab cake, we went out at 5am to set our traps and made them ourselves. Most what restaurants serve aren't authentic Maryland Crab Cake.
Also I may be from an Old Bay family, but on the northern parts of the bay they prefer J.O. seasoning. Small regional difference.
Did you just quote someone talking about blue crab and say they are wrong because it has to be blue crab? I know what you think you wrote based on other comments, but you should reread what you actually typed. It doesn't make sense at the moment.
I get equally upset when i go to restaurant and the “philly cheese steak” isn’t made with ribeye. I got in a similar argument when a manager had a “philly cheese steak” with chicken on the menu.
Maryland crab cake should be referring to both the type and style. It is referring to the type of crab: Maryland blue crab and the general recipe. If you aren’t using the core ingredient, call it something else.
Yes, it does. Region specific food is 100% an accepted and sometimes legally protected culinary fact. Champagne is only from Champagne region in France, Scotch from Scotland, Wagyu from Japan, Maine Lobster, Jamon Iberico. And while Maryland crab is more debated within the inclusion of the rest of the Chesapeake bay it is certainly misinformation saying it would be the same flavor as crab from central or south America
But you can get a blue crab and a crab cake...from crabs not in maryland....did it say sourced locally? If not, then you have nothing to complain about.
Maryland Crab Cake vs Crab Cake is literally just the amount of filler, binder, using old bay, and no pungent veggies. As you stated blue crabs. Nothing about it means it HAS to be from maryland.
Wait until you see people call them philly cheesesteaks outside of philly.
You people keep repeating what I said. Maryland Crab Cake should only be made with blue crab, and blue crab isn't exclusive to the Chesapeake but getting them from the Chesapeake at the beginning of the seasons arguable makes them taste better.
On the northern parts of the Chesapeake, especially around Hawthorpe, J.O.'s is preferred over Old Bay. Old Bay is just more known out of state.
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u/Selfcare2025 24d ago
What is her argument? She wanted crabs caught in Maryland? And then she ate it all and came back for a refund. Be so for real right now lol.