Scalloped Crabs

Ingredients

• the meat from the shells of twelve Crabs
• two eggs hard
• 1 table-spoonful of butter
• 1 table-spoonful of flour
• 1 pint of milk
• 1 teaspoonful of salt
• i saltspoonful of pepper
• a dust of cayenne
• the rind and juice of a lemon
• Dust cracker-crumbs over the tops

Method

1. 1

   Remove crab meat, chop hard-boiled eggs, and prepare a sauce with butter, flour, and milk.

2. 2

   Season and add crab meat, eggs, and lemon.

3. 3

   Place in shells, top with breadcrumbs, and brown in a hot oven.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The encyclopædia of practical cookery (1890) by Theodore Francis Garrett, page 510. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

1 table-spoonful of flour, and cook together, stirring constantly to prevent burning ; add to it 1 large tumblerful of rich cream, one onion that has been boiled soft and mashed up into a paste or pulp, a little grated nutmeg, and season with cayenne and salt. Then put in the Crab-meat and a raw egg or two, stir all well together, and cook for a few minutes, or until it begins to thicken ; then pour it all on a flat dish and let it remain until cold. Now fill the back shells of the Crabs with the mixture, egg them over with a soft brush, and cover with grated breadcrumbs or cracker-dust. Lay them in a baking-pan, put a small piece of butter on top of each, and bake in a moderate oven to a delicate brown colour, or fry them in plenty of hot frying-.lard. (2) Boil a dozen Crabs, and remove the meat from the shells and claws ; add to the meat an equal quantity of bread- or cracker-crumbs, J teacupful each of Worcestershire sauce and mixed mustard, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 saltspoonful of pepper, half that quantity of cayenne, 2 table-spoonfuls of melted butter, and just enough milk to moisten these ingredients so that they can be mixed thoroughly. Fill the Crab-shells with this mixture, dust them with cracker- or breadcrumbs, arrange them in a pan, put a small piece of butter on each, and quickly brown them in a very hot oven. Serve hot or cold. The seasoning of devilled Crabs should always be high. (3) Pick out the flesh of one dozen cooked Crabs and mix with it 3 table-spoonfuls of breadcrumbs, a little chopped parsley, 2 dessert-spoonfuls of cream, the yolks of three eggs, 1 table-spoonful of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. When well mixed, put it back in the shells, which must have been previously cleaned, and bake in a sharp oven. Serve very hot. (4) After the Crabs have been boiled in salted water for twenty minutes, crack the claws and take out the meat, remove it also from the shells, and put it in a basin with half the quantity of breadcrumbs; for each Crab add 1 teaspoonful of vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of made mustard, 1 teaspoonful of warmed butter, J saltspoonful of salt, and a small pinch of cayenne. Put the mixture in the Crab-shells, cover the surface with biscuit-crumbs, place in a brisk oven, and bake brown, basting the tops with butter. Serve in the shells. Fig. 541. Minced Crab. Minced Crab. — Put the finely-chopped meat of a Crab into a saucepan, pour over I wineglassful each of white wine and vinegar, and season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook 2 p 2 For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, etc., referred to, see under their special heads. 452 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL COOKERY. Crabs — continued. gently oyer tlie fire for about ten minutes, and add 2oz. of butter warmed and mixed up with one boned anchovy, and stir in the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Sprinkle in sufficient sifted breadcrumbs to thicken, turn the whole out on to a dish, and serve with the claws and sprigs of parsley for garnish (see Fig. 541). Scalloped Crabs. — (1) Remove the meat from the shells of twelve Crabs, rejecting the stomach (which lies just at the back of the eyes), the intestine (which is coiled up in the middle of _ the body), and the soft fins (which lie under the legs), but saving the green fat and the curd (which lie next the shell). Boil two eggs hard, remove the shells, and chop them fine ; grate the rind and strain the juice of a lemon. Put 1 table-spoonful each of butter and flour into a saucepan over the fire, and stir them until they bubble ; then gradually stir in 1 pint of milk, and let the sauce thus made boil for a moment ; season it with 1 teaspoonful of salt, i saltspoonful of pepper, and a dust of cayenne ; add the Crab-meat, chopped eggs, and lemon. Let these ingredients all heat together, and put the mixture into scallop shells, or on a dish which can be sent to table. Dust cracker-crumbs over the tops

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.