Deviled Crab Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter, pour into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the sherry, lemon juice, cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Add the egg, break it up with the whisk, and whisk to combine.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss the crab with your hands (feel for any missed shell remnants and remove) with the grated egg, scallions, jalapeños, and ½ cup bread crumbs. Add the butter mixture to the crab, tossing with your hands to evenly and gently combine. The mixture will be halfway between sticky and crumbly, but easy enough to compress into a cake. (Microwave or fry a small sample to check for spiciness. If planning to make crab cakes, form the cakes and refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes, or longer if wrapped in plastic wrap.).
• Using a 1/3 cup measure as a mold, pack the crab mixture into 10 portions, then either press the patties into cleaned crab shells or turn out onto a greased baking sheet if you intend to make crab cakes. Arrange the filled crab shells, if using, on a baking sheet. Top each portion with a sprinkling of the remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into 10 thin pats and set on top of each portion of crab.
• Bake in the oven on the middle rack for about 20 minutes, until the crab is slightly browned and drying on top. Remove, garnish each with a pinch of cayenne and some parsley, if using, and serve immediately with lemon wedges. (If making cakes, flip each cake once before garnishing and serving, as the bottom side will have browned more alluringly.).

Steps:

• ---To Prepare Crabs---.
• Fill a large dutch oven 2 gallons water; add 1 cup of Old Bay seasoning (if desired) and heat to a boil.
• Drop live crabs into the water, reduce heat and simmer until done (about 10 minutes).
• Drain, and remove crabs.
• To remove meat, grasp body of the crab; break off the large claws; remove meat from the claws.
• Pull off the top shell and reserve.
• Cut or break off the lower legs; scrape off the gills, and remove the organs located in the center of the body carefully.
• Remove the meat from the body.
• Scrub the shells with a brush and rinse before filling.
• ---To Prepare Filling---.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Grease the largest 6 shells (or ramekins if using crab meat with no shells).
• Mix the breadcrumbs with the milk in a bowl.
• Add the butter, dry mustard, cayenne, egg, and onion and mix gently.
• Spoon the filling into the shells.
• Pour a layer of coarse salt onto a lipped baking sheet or jelly-roll pan.
• Nest the shells in the salt and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve at once with wedges of lemon.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pick through the crabmeat to remove bits of cartilage etc. In a mixing bowl combine the crabmeat with the scallions, celery and bell pepper. (Make sure the green onions, celery and bell pepper are very finely chopped because they won't cook in the oven and you don't want their raw texture to be intrusive.) In a separate mixing bowl combine the mustard with the butter and cream. Combine the crabmeat mixture with the melted butter and cracker crumbs. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and Tabasco sauce to taste. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Top with additional cracker crumbs and bake for half an hour until the top has browned.
• Variation instead of combining crabmeat vegetables with the butter and cream combine it with 3/4 cup of evaporated skim milk mixed with 1 teaspoon dry mustard rather than the Dijon mustard.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Mix the crab meat with the breadcrumbs, celery, onions and moisten with the butter and cream.
• Season with the mustard, salt, cayenne, parsley and sweet green pepper and mix thoroughly.
• Pile the mixture into shells or flat individual dishes and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Pick over the crab meat to remove cartilage and bone. Try not to break up the lumps. Put the crab in a mixing bowl.
• Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onion and celery. Cook until wilted. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Add the onion and celery mixture and 1/2 cup each of mayonnaise and cheese to the crab meat. Add the parsley, lemon juice, sherry, pepper and Tabasco. Blend carefully so as not to break up the lumps of crab.
• If you are to serve this as a canape, spoon the mixture into 14 to 16 small scallop dishes. If it is to be served as a main course, spoon it into six large scallop shells.
• Blend the remaining two tablespoons of mayonnaise and one tablespoon of cheese. Spoon equal portions of this mixture over the tops of the crab and smooth it over. Place under the broiler until bubbling and golden brown.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Gradually stir in cream until smooth. , Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat., Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the crab, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and chives., Spoon into six greased 6-oz. ramekins or custard cups. Place on a baking sheet. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle over tops. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Pulse the onion, celery and red bell pepper in a food processor until minced. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced vegetables and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
• Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, sherry, seafood seasoning, mace and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the cooled vegetables. Fold in the crabmeat and cracker crumbs. Spoon about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the crab mixture into each crab shell and brush with melted butter. Place the crab shells on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook onion and celery, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• Gently toss crab with lemon juice.
• Coarsely crush saltines with your hands in a large bowl. Stir in onion mixture, Sherry, cayenne, and salt, then fold in crab.
• Divide among scallop shells and bake in middle of oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
• We use Outerbridge's brand, from Bermuda. Available at specialty foods shops and from 441-296-4451 or outerbridge.com.
• ** Available at Bridge Kitchenware (800-274-3435).

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and fit into an 11-inch round tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Roll rolling pin over top of shell to trim dough flush with rim and lightly press dough up side of pan. With a fork prick bottom and side of shell all over. Chill shell 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven 25 minutes and carefully remove foil and weights or rice. Bake shell until just pale golden, about 8 minutes more. (Leave oven on.) Shell may be made 8 hours ahead and kept in pan, loosely covered, at room temperature.
• Finely chop onion, bell pepper, and celery and in a heavy skillet cook vegetables in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until bell pepper is softened.
• Increase temperature to 425°F.
• Pick over crab meat and drain roasted peppers. Finely chop roasted peppers, parsley, and scallion greens, reserving whites for another use. In a large bowl whisk together mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs and gently stir in onion mixture, crab, roasted peppers, parsley, scallion, cayenne, and salt to taste.
• Spoon filling into shell, smoothing top, and sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs. Bake tart in middle of oven until top is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the flour, mustard, salt and cayenne and cook until the mixture is smooth and bubbling, about five minutes.
• Whisk the raw egg yolk into the milk and add to the roux. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and smooth. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, parsley, lemon juice and hard-cooked egg yolks. Gently fold in the crab meat. Remove from heat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spoon the mixture into small ramekins and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake until the tops brown, about 10 minutes.