ShareThisCarolina-Style Deviled Crab
Deviled crab is a popular Lowcountry dish, especially in South Carolina. Deviled refers to spicing up a dish with one or two ingredients, such as hot sauce, mustard, or red pepper flakes. We've used a sweet and tangy hot sauce from NW Elixirs for a flavorful heat, but any hot sauce can be substituted. Add a few extra dashes according to your heat preference. I like extra spice against the rich and creamy crab.
This recipe comes from the pages of Joseph Dabney's charming cookbook,The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking. While the blue crab is the local specialty of the region about which he writes, you could substitute Dungeness crab to equal success. If you're working with fresh in-shell crab, reserve and wash the shells to use as baking vessels for the dip. Of course, a smaller au gratin or baking dish will suffice too.
Carolina- Style Deviled Crab
Makes 4 small servings
Adapted from The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 tablespoon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of hot sauce
1/2 cup milk
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 green pepper, minced
1 cup crab meat
1 hard-cooked egg, minced
1/4 cup soft bread crumbs
Heat oven to 400°F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in top half of a double boiler. Stir in flour and next six ingredients. Slowly stir in milk, and cook, stirring often, until thickened. Remove from heat, set aside and cover.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet, cook the onion and bell pepper until slightly tender and add to milk mixture. Add the crab meat and eggs and gently fold together. Pack the mixture into crab shells or a small baking mold. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter, roll breadcrumbs in it and sprinkle over the top of crab mixture. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are browned. Serve with warm bread or crackers.
