Maryland Crab Cakes

1. 1Tip the crab meat onto a tray and go through it with your fingers for shell fragments. Do this properly even with picked crab — one piece of shell ruins the whole thing.
2. 2Whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Build the binder separately, because mixing it into the crab directly means over-handling the meat.
3. 3Add the crab and parsley and fold with a spatula, turning rather than stirring, maybe six or seven times. You want the lumps of crab intact — the lump meat is what you paid for.
4. 4Scatter the cracker crumbs over and fold twice more. The mixture should only just hold when squeezed. If it feels firm and doughy, you have used too much binder.
5. 5Shape into eight loose cakes about 3 cm thick and set them on a lined tray. Chill uncovered for at least an hour. This is the step that replaces extra binder: cold cakes hold their shape in the pan where warm ones collapse.
6. 6Heat the butter and oil in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat until foaming.
7. 7Fry the cakes for 4 minutes without touching them, until a deep golden crust forms, then turn once with a fish slice and give them 3 minutes more. Turn them only once — every extra flip is a chance to break them.
8. 8Drain briefly and serve hot with lemon.

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