Dressed Crab
Submitted by markedwards
Dressed crab is a classic British seafood centerpiece. White crab meat tossed with lemon, parsley, and mayonnaise, served in the shell alongside a brown meat mixture spiked with dijon mustard and breadcrumbs.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
0 minREADY
30 minDressed crab is one of those quintessentially British seaside dishes that turns a single cooked crab into a showpiece worthy of a proper Sunday lunch. The technique involves separating the sweet, delicate white meat from the richer, fattier brown meat in the body cavity, then dressing each with its own complementary mix before serving them back in the cleaned shell.
The white meat from the claws, legs, and body gets a light handling with lemon, parsley, and mayonnaise so the texture stays in big, identifiable flakes. The brown meat, which carries most of the crab’s intense, almost livery flavor, gets mellowed with soft brown breadcrumbs, dijon mustard, and a touch more mayo to round out its richness. Once both are mixed, the cleaned shell becomes the serving dish, with brown packed at the sides and white piled in the middle.
Crowned with chopped hard-boiled egg and more parsley, it’s the kind of plate that needs nothing more than thick slices of brown bread, soft butter, a green salad, and a cold glass of white wine.
Chef Tips
- Buy a live or freshly cooked crab from a fishmonger if you can. The flavor difference over pre-picked refrigerated meat is enormous.
- Pick the meat over a clean white plate so you can spot any stray shell fragments before they end up in the dish.
- Discard the dead man’s fingers (the gray, feathery gills inside the shell). They’re harmless but bitter and chewy.
- Chill the dressed crab for 30 minutes before serving so the flavors marry and the texture firms up.
Variations
- Add a teaspoon of finely grated horseradish to the brown meat mixture for extra heat.
- Stir a small pinch of cayenne and a splash of brandy into the brown meat for a more luxurious, restaurant-style version.
- Replace the dijon with English mustard for a more bracingly traditional British flavor.
Ingredients
Directions
Crack crab claws open and remove white meat, keeping it as intact as possible. Put it into a bowl.
Put rest of white meat from claw arms, legs and body into bowl.
Add grated lemon rind, half juice, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley and 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise to white meat and mix lightly.
In a separate bowl, put breadcrumbs, remaining mayonnaise and lemon juice and the mustard.
Scoop out brown meat from shell and put into bowl and mix lightly.
Wash shell and dry.
Use brown meat mixture to fill the two sides of shell and pack white meat into centre.
Sprinkle finely-chopped hard-boiled egg and rest of parsley over top for decoration.
Serve with lots of brown bread and butter and a green salad to follow.
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