Poached Eggs & Crabmeat with Brandied Cream Sauce
Submitted by hungry1
Poached eggs and sautéed crabmeat layered in ramekins and blanketed with a flamed brandy cream sauce. An elegant brunch main with cayenne heat and a dusting of paprika.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
10 minREADY
30 minBrunch gets a serious upgrade when crabmeat and poached eggs meet a flamed brandy cream sauce in a hot ramekin. The sauce is a classic béchamel base, built from butter, flour, and milk, then livened up with flambé'd brandy, lemon juice, and a snap of cayenne. Igniting the brandy burns off the raw alcohol bite and leaves behind a toasted, slightly sweet depth you can’t fake with a splash of the bottle alone.
The crab only needs a quick sauté in butter, just long enough to warm through and pick up seasoning. Overcook it and the delicate flakes turn rubbery. Vinegar in the poaching water helps the egg whites set tight around the yolks instead of drifting into wisps. Build each ramekin warm so nothing cools before the sauce goes on.
Chef Tips
- Warm the brandy before igniting. Cold brandy won’t light; it needs a touch of heat to vaporize.
- Use a long match or lighter and keep your face back. The flame flares quickly and dies in under a minute.
- Whisk the flour into the butter and onion for the full 2 minutes to cook out the raw starch taste.
- Poach the eggs last and slide them onto the warm crab. A barely-set yolk is the goal.
- Pick through the crabmeat for shell fragments before sautéing.
Variations
- Swap brandy for dry sherry or cognac for a different aromatic profile.
- Stir a tablespoon of chopped tarragon or chives into the sauce.
- Serve over toasted English muffins for a crab-eggs Benedict twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Sauce: In a heavy saucepan melt butter, add onions and sauté until they are soft but not brown.
Add flour and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly.
Whisk in milk and cook until sauce thickens and is smooth.
In a small pan warm brandy and ignite.
When the flame subsides add to the sauce with the lemon juice, cayenne and salt.
Taste for seasoning.
Keep warm while you prepare the crabmeat and eggs.
Melt butter in a skillet and add crabmeat, salt and cayenne to taste.
Sauté the crabmeat for about 6 minutes over medium heat.
Poach eggs in water with 1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar.
Divide sautéed crabmeat among 4 ramekins and cover each portion with 2 poached eggs.
Top with brandied cream sauce.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Serve with toast or garlic bread.
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