Ingredients

• 2 pounds jumbo lump blue crabmeat
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or homemade aioli
• 4 teaspoons seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 6 scallions, finely chopped, about 3/4 of the green part
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 large eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 3 to 6 tablespoons fine bread crumbs (use just enough to help the cakes start to bind)
• Canola-olive oil blend
• Cocktail Sauce, recipe follows, for serving
• Flavored aioli, for serving, optional
• 1 quart ketchup
• 2 tablespoons horseradish
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Pinch cayenne
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Pick over the crabmeat to remove any shells. Be gentle, as the lumps of crab are delicate and will fall apart. Set aside. Mix together the mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, scallions, basil, eggs, and salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the crabmeat and with your hands gently mix together. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the crab mixture and continue to mix. Divide the mixture into 4 parts and mold the cakes with your hands (do not rinse off you hands between mixing and forming the cakes, as it is mixture on your hands that help the cakes stay together).
2. Refrigerate the cakes for at least 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Paint the crab cakes with a minuscule amount of oil and sear in a hot oven-safe skillet or on a griddle top until lightly golden brown on both sides. The cakes have such little binder that you need to be careful when flipping them over so that they don't fall apart. Place the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, or to heat through.
5. Serve with a red Cocktail Sauce and/or a flavored aioli.
6. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.