Crab Cake Egg Rolls

If you don’t live in Baltimore, then you probably aren’t aware of the newest food trend. In fact, it really isn’t new, but finally being recognized. And now it is spreading like wildfire. They are Crab Cake Egg Rolls.

Any restaurant that has any stakes in crab cakes or crab dip now also has an investment in Crab Cake Egg Rolls. One of Baltimore’s best Instagramers posted a wildly popular image of crab cake egg rolls from AJ’s on Hanover and then the Baltimore Sun picked it up.

Papi’s in Fells and now the iconic Jimmy’s Seafood, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

If you don’t live here and wondering what they are, it is basically a Maryland spin on a crab rangoon, but packaged like an egg roll but with a lot more crab.

Crab Cake Egg Rolls

Here I am, stuck in the burbs and wanting a gosh darn egg roll! So what do I do? I make my own!

Recipe testing anything with crab is certainly a perk of my job. And here is what I learned.

1. Merely taking a cooked crab cake and stuffing it into an egg roll wrapper is a little dry. And since the crab meat is now being cooked three times (one to steam, another to make the crab cake and a third to fry), it gets a little rubbery.
2. You can also take an uncooked crab cake and stuff it in the wrapper. I know I am a total weirdo here, but this is also why I don’t care for crab cake sandwiches- too much bread and meat and it needs more creaminess.
3. To get a totally decadent crab cake egg roll, you are better off using a blend of crab cake and crab dip.
4. While I don’t generally use lump crab in my dip, I would suggest it for an egg roll. Or a special blend like backfin and lump.
5. Freezing is essential. If you fry before freezing, you run a really real risk of losing precious cheese or crab. No one wants that.
6. Dipping sauce is not necessary, but totally delicious and worth the few extra minutes it takes to whip it up.

How to Make Crab Cake Egg Rolls

Gather your ingredients, including:

• Crab meat (see section below)
• Cream cheese, softened
• Mayonnaise
• Sour cream
• Worcestershire sauce
• Hot sauce
• Old Bay
• White pepper
• Shredded cheese

ONE. Make the filling by creaming together cream cheese, mayo and sour cream.

TWO. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, Old Bay and white pepper.

THREE. Finally, fold in crab meat and cheeses.

FOUR. Fill the egg rolls! Keep unused wrappers under a damp towel while you are working. Full with about 1/2 cup of filling each.

FIVE. Fold up like an envelope.

SIX. Freeze. They don’t need to be 100% solid, but the filling needs to be near solid to make sure it doesn’t melt and leak while deep frying.

SEVEN. Deep fry. Heat oil and fry to a golden brown.

EIGHT. Remove to a wire rack above a paper towel lined plate. Keeping them suspending prevents the bottom from getting soggy.

NINE. Make the dipping sauce. If the crab cake egg rolls weren’t totally delicious, I’d claim this was the star of the show. One of my testers even used this as their pizza dipping sauce. It is an Old Bay Chipotle Aioli and it is fantastic.

Crab Meat

In case you aren’t familiar with buying blue crab meat, here is a quick tutorial on the names and what exactly they mean.

• Claw– dark meat that comes from the claw, a little more stringy than other varieties.
• Special– smaller pieces, comes from small little crevices or the “special” sections of the crab, good for flavoring and dips.
• Backfin– some larger lumps coming from, you guessed it, the back of the shell, whiter meat, does well in crab cakes, feathery texture.
• Jumbo lump– large, lumps of meat, the beauty is the large pieces used for crab meat cocktails or delicious to pop in your mouth plain, very tasty and moist.

More crabby recipes:

• Crab Imperial
• Crab Melts
• Crabby Tots

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Crab Cake Egg Rolls

4.56 from 38 votes

Creamy jumbo lump crab meat and cheese stuffed in a crunchy egg roll wrapper, gently fried and topped with spicy Old Bay aioli.

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Freezing Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 35 mins

Servings: 16

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Ingredients

Crab Cake Egg Rolls

• 3 ounces cream cheese , softened
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasonings
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 cup cheddar cheese , shredded
• 1 pound lump blue crab meat
• 16 large egg roll wrappers
• 1 egg
• Vegetable oil
• Scallions

Sriracha Old Bay Aioli

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

Instructions

Make Crab Mixture

• In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese well. Add mayonnaise and sour cream, blending well.
• Add Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay and white pepper, blend again.
• Add shredded cheese and crab meat, fold in by hand using a spatula. Set aside.
  
• Set up a workstation with egg roll wrappers, keeping unused wrappers covered with a damp paper towel or tea towel. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water.
• Arrange egg roll wrapper like a diamond. Baste edges with egg wash. Place approximately 1/2 cup of crab mixture in the center.
• Roll up the bottom, fold in sides, then continue to roll.
  
• Freeze crab cake egg rolls for a minimum of 2 hours, but as long as 3 months. Seperate in freezer safe container using parchment or wax paper to prevent sticking.

Fry Egg Rolls

• Heat 3-4 inches of vegetable oil to 300 degrees in a deep fryer or heavy bottom sauce pan. Add 2-3 eggs rolls at a time depending on the size of your pot.
• Fry for 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.
• Remove to a wire rack positioned over paper towels to drain.

Make Dipping Sauce

• In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Sriracha, Old Bay Seasoning and coarse Kosher salt.
• Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Garnish egg rolls with sliced scallions and Sriracha aioli.
• If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 383 kcal, Carbohydrates: 8 g, Protein: 9 g, Fat: 17 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 44 mg, Sodium: 539 mg, Potassium: 92 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 1 g, Vitamin A: 186 IU, Vitamin C: 3 mg, Calcium: 81 mg, Iron: 1 mg

Author: Jessica Formicola

Calories: 383

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crab cake egg rolls