This is, without a doubt, the single most requested recipe I get asked to make by friends and family.
Having tried many crab dip recipes over the years, I can tell you that this is the ultimate Spicy Crab Dip. The recipe is adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s original Hot Jalapeño Crab Dip recipe, to whom I am eternally grateful for creating this easy and delicious dip. I have altered the quantity of some of Emeril’s ingredients, and the directions, to arrive at what I think is crab perfection. It turns me into a star cook every time.
Ok, lets get down to it. Selecting your crab.
You want a good crab dip? Use good crab. It’s just that simple.
I know this is not always possible for those of you who don’t have access to a good fish shop, but fortunately for me, we have several around these parts- which means fresh crab is the only acceptable option for me. And for that reason alone, I remain a coastal citizen.
Alright, fresh crab- check.
Now, what kind of crab to use? Claw, backfin, lump, jumbo lump. The options are overwhelming! Actually, no they are not.
Let me repeat a little something I said earlier… You want a good crab dip? Use good crab. It’s just that simple.
And so, jumbo lump is the way to go. Nothing makes a feaster more happy than getting a big ole’ meaty lump of fresh crab and only jumbo lump will do that. When jumbo isn’t an option, lump does the job fantastically, and what Emeril calls for in his original recipe, but avoid claw and backfin meat for this recipe. They do have their place in other recipes, but not this one.
Next, picking a hot sauce. When the recipe calls for hot sauce, use hot sauce- not Tabasco sauce, not Sriracha sauce. Got it? They are not the same thing! Tabasco nor Sriracha should ever be used as a substitute for hot sauce and vise versa in a recipe. They have different flavor profiles and their measurements do not equal each other. For example, a tablespoon of hot sauce is not equal to a tablespoon of Tabasco sauce in a recipe. So in order to achieve the desired result for this gem of a recipe, be sure to use a hot sauce like Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or Chilula Original Hot Sauce.
The rest of the ingredients are pretty straight forward and don’t require much introduction- mayonnaise, garlic, jalapeño jack cheese, pickled jalapeños and parmesan cheese. So there you have it- everything you need to make this amazing crab dip.
But… hold up a second. A dip is only as good as whatever you dip it with. The ‘dip’ and the ‘dipper’ need to be in perfect culinary harmony. So, no crackers, no chips, no vegetables here. This recipe needs homemade toast points.
The toasts used to take me a while to baste each one with just the right amount of olive oil and it was, simply put, a pain in the ass. I’ve since figured out a trick that makes these toasts super easy and quick to make, while also cutting out a few calories. Instead of basting the toasts in olive oil, I simply use a good olive oil spray. It works out brilliantly and I no longer have an excuse not to make them.
Time to get your dip on!
- 1 lb Jumbo lump or lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1/3 lb Monterey Jack cheese with jalapenos, grated
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Hot Sauce, such as Franks
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup diced jarred jalapeños (up to half a cup depending on taste)
- 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
- 1 French baguette- sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
- salt & fresh ground pepper
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Preheat the oven to 350F
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Combine the garlic, jalapenos, Monterey Jack, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, and mayonnaise in a medium-size mixing bowl. Gently mix in the crab.
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Spoon the mixture into a 9x9 or other medium-size, shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly on the top.
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Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes. Serving with the croutons
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Arrange the bread slices on the baking sheet and spray them with olive oil spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat.
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Bake until the croutons are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.
But I take issue with the quality of most of the shrimp cocktail that is being served out there. Water logged, flavorless excuses for shrimp are not how this delicate seafood should be served. Shrimp Cocktail should be meaty, dry, and slightly briny. It should have tons of flavor all on its own. It should not be wet, and without flavor like those horrid shrimp rings at the grocery store- those just hurt my soul.
