In his cookbook, John Martin Taylor suggests baking and serving the deviled crabmeat in crab backs (shells), a presentation he learned from Alice Marks, one of Charleston's great cooks. But since most people purchase their crabmeat already picked from the shell, we baked our deviled crab in store-bought scallop shells instead.
Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 50 min
Recipe information
Total Time
50 min
Yield
Makes 8 first-course servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Step 2
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.
Step 3
Gently toss crab with lemon juice.
Step 4
Coarsely crush saltines with your hands in a large bowl. Stir in onion mixture, Sherry, cayenne, and salt, then fold in crab.
Step 5
Divide among scallop shells and bake in middle of oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Step 6
- We use Outerbridge's brand, from Bermuda. Available at specialty foods shops and from 441-296-4451 or outerbridge.com.
Step 7
** Available at Bridge Kitchenware (800-274-3435).
