Deviled Crab Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup mayonnaise
* 2 Tablespoons minced onion
* 2 Tablespoons minced green pepper
* 2 teaspoons minced parsley
* 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* Dash Tabasco
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1 pound fresh or pasteurized crabmeat, either select or lump grades, picked over to remove all bits of shell
* 3 to 4 Tablespoons butter
* 1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
* Parsley sprigs
* Lemon wedges

Preparation:
Put the mayonnaise3 in a bowl and whisk in the onions, green peppers, parsley, mustard4, Worcestershire sauce5, Tabasco, cayenne, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Go very easy on the salt and pepper. Cover bowl and put aside for 15 minutes or so for the flavors to marry. Correct seasoning.

Gently fold in the crab6. Reserve, refrigerated, if you are doing this in advance.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small skillet and add the bread crumbs. Cook over low heat until just golden, adding a little more butter if it seems too dry. Scrape into a bowl and cool.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Arrange natural or ceramic crab or scallop shells or ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide crab mixture among containers, mounding it a bit in the center so that it looks generous. Sprinkle the crumbs over the crab mixture. Bake on the top rack of the oven until bubbly and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges.

Yield: 6 to 8 as a first course; 4 as a main course