Crab Imperial

Lump crabmeat baked in a creamy sauce spiked with sherry and Old Bay?   What’s not to love?  Delicious and a bit decadent, Crab Imperial tastes very fancy, but it couldn’t be easier.  

And before we go any further, would you just look at those terrific glass crab shells?  I love them so much, and I need to tell you where they came from.  Several months ago my lovely neighbor Valery gave them to me.  She said they were handed down to her.  She remembered having crab in them at family dinners, but she didn’t use them now.  Y’all she GAVE them to me!  How sweet is that?  They’re made by a company called Glasbake, and they’re oven safe, super sturdy, and beautiful.  I adore usng them.  Thank you, Valery!

Food historians agree that Crab Imperial originated in Baltimore in the late 1800s.  Thompson’s Sea Girt House–est. 1885–gets the credit. (“Sea girt” means surrounded by the sea.  I didn’t know, either.) By the mid-20th century, Crab Imperial was a fancy cocktail or dinner party staple all along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.  And no wonder!  When I say it’s easy, I mean it’s SILLY EASY.  (Did I mention that it’s delicious, too?)

Honestly, the sauce part is nothing more than a stir-together operation, then you fold in the crab and sprinkle on the topping.  Your oven does the rest.

Some thoughts on ingredients:

• Start with fresh lump or jumbo lump crabmeat if you possibly can.  If you truly can’t get your hands on that, use the highest-quality canned lump crabmeat you can find.  Canned crabmeat is often available both refrigerated and on the canned fish aisle at your grocery store.  I’ve never tried using imitation crabmeat, so I can’t speak to that.    
• If you don’t have Old Bay seasoning, you can substitute Creole seasoning.  It won’t taste quite the same, and you’ll need a little less.  Adding a pinch each of powdered ginger and ground cloves will get  you closer to the Old Bay flavor.
• I don’t use expensive sherry for cooking, but I don’t use “cooking sherry”, either.  Cooking sherry is loaded with salt and preservatives, purposely making it unpleasant to drink.  That’s so grocers without alcohol licenses can sell it. Regular sherry is a fortified wine without those additives, and is available in the wine section of your supermarket or liquor store.   Once opened it will last 2-3 years stored in a cool, dark place.  I don’t drink sherry, but I do keep Taylor Dry Sherry for cooking.  It’s perfectly fine.

Let’s talk about baking and serving Crab Imperial.  

• This recipe won’t fill a standard casserole dish.  If you’re serving it as a stand-up hors d’oeuvre, go ahead and bake it in your smallest oven-safe casserole dish.  Serve it with buttery crackers, crostini, or toast points. 
• If you want to serve it as a sit-down appetizer, natural or ceramic scallop shells are a great bet.  The recipe will make eight shells’ worth. 
• If Crab Imperial is the main course, four 6-8 oz. ramekins are perfect, though you can also go the small casserole route.
• Crab Imperial bakes for 20 minutes or so.  

Leftover Crab Imperial is rare, but if you accidentally made extra and then hid it behind the baking soda and prune juice, you can do other things with it.  I have a few suggestions for your Crab Imperial stash: 

• Mix it with some breadcrumbs and make a crab cake
• Use it to stuff flounder or shrimp.
• Fill an omelette with it and enjoy!

And if you like Crab Imperial, you should also try my Deviled Crab.

Print Recipe

Crab Imperial

The deliciously decadent dish serves 8 as an appetizer, or 4 as a main course

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Crab Imperial

Equipment

• 8 baking shells, or 4 ramekins, or a small casserole dish

Ingredients

• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 T. Dijon mustard
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. dry sherry
• 1 T. parsley flakes
• 2 t. Old Bay seasoning, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 lb. lump crabmeat
• 2 T. grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease ramekins, shells, or a small baking dish.
• Beat together the mayo and egg yolk. Add the Dijon, lemon juice, sherry, parsley, Old Bay, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well.
• Carefully fold in the crabmeat and taste for seasoning. Adjust if necessary. Spoon into the ramekins, shells, or baking dish. Do this lightly, don’t press down or pack the crab and sauce. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and a little more Old Bay.
• Bake for 20 minutes for shells or ramekins, maybe 22 or 23 minutes for a baking dish.
• Serve hot.