Deviled Crab -devilishly simple

My mother used to make deviled crab to rave reviews.  This recipe follows hers as closely as my sagging memory allows.

One evening over supper a guest asked how hard deviled crab was to make.  “Oh, it’s very simple,” my mother said, nonchalantly.  “You just toss everything together and slip it in the oven.”

My father’s eyes got big.  He dropped his fork.  “Easy for you to say!  You didn’t spend two goddamned hours dicing every goddamned thing!”  Of course, my father took his dicing responsibilities as seriously as a talented machinist in a watch factory.  If he had made jigsaw puzzles, the pieces would all have been one inch square and you could have measured them with a micrometer.

As for me, as my greedy family constantly reminds me, I am not that perfect, least of all when I’m mincing hard boiled eggs.  Still, when I feed the hungry hordes, they have no problem bellying up to the trough and fighting for the last scraps. Your hordes are going to love this dish, too.

Besides the delicious mingling of flavors, another thing I like about deviled crab is the eye appeal.  Tiny bits of this and that flecked together, lighted browned on top, and served in ramekins, or scallop shells, as my mother used to do…well, they beg for the time honored delight of  rapidly moving the fork to the mouth.

Unlike what my father exclaimed, this recipe only takes about half an hour, including the slicing and dicing, and another 25 minutes baking in a 350ºF (180ºCº) oven.

To keep it simple, and to give the deviled crab first billing, I often serve it with oven-roasted vegetables, which I toss with only a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. The vegetables also bake at 350º, for the same 25 minutes.  Finger-sized cuts of carrots, petite green beans, slices of red bell pepper, a few broccoli flowerets, and slices of onion add color, and a rough-cut bistro texture to the plate.  Often I drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar over the vegetables before serving.

Deviled Crab

1 lb. crab meat – I used a one-pound can of pasteurized and refrigerated mixture of claw and body meat.  Two recommendations:  Fresh crab is best.  Steer clear of the canned crab that requires no refrigeration – absolutely tasteless!

1 Cup mixture of green and white onion, diced

1 Stalk of celery, diced

½ Red bell pepper, diced (use the other half in the mixed, roasted vegetables)

3 Hardboiled eggs, minced (You can use a fork.  I used a pastry blender, the tool for cutting butter into flour)

½ Cup plain breadcrumbs  (a stale baguette and my food processor do the trick)

1 Tablespoon yellow mustard

½ Cup mayonnaise (careful with this; the idea is to moisten, not saturate)

A pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

3 Lemon wedges

Pick through the crab meat to take out any bits of shell.  Put the crab meat in a bowl and squeeze the lemon wedges over it.  Mix well. 

Add the other diced and minced ingredients and breadcrumbs to the bowl. Toss.

Add the mayonnaise, mustard, and a dash of cayenne – how big a dash depends on you!  I favor truly just a dash.  Crab is a delicate flavor.

Mix and toss well, using forks.  You want to keep the mixture light, not at all packed down.

Again, using forks to keep the mixture from packing, fill the ramekins.  This recipe will serve 4 or 5 as a main course, or 6-8 as an appetizer.

Prior to going in the oven.

Put the ramekins on a cookie tray and pop them in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.  The bits deviled crab sticking up should just be turning brown.  If not, leave them in the oven another five minutes, but take care not to overcook!

Fresh out of the oven

A solid supper and devilishly easy.  Serve with dry to semi-dry white sparkling wine.  I suggest two bottles.  One for the meal and one for sipping while you cook.  It makes the time go so much faster and will make you a jolly host.