Patout's Hot Crab Dip

Patout’s was a legendary Cajun restaurant in New Orleans, and this hot crab dip captures their style perfectly. It begins with the Cajun holy trinity: yellow onion, bell pepper, and garlic, slowly sweated in butter until they melt into something soft and sweet. Then the crab joins the party, draped in a reduced cream sauce spiked with three peppers (black, white, and Tabasco) for that layered heat Louisiana cooks build instead of just dumping in one chile.

The cream reduces by a quarter before the crab goes in. That reduction concentrates the flavors and gives the dip enough body to scoop without running off the cracker.

Fresh lump crab is the move. Imitation crab will not stand up to this sauce. Serve hot from a chafing dish with toast points or crackers.

Pro Tips

• Pick through the crab meat for shell shards before adding to the sauce. Lump crab almost always hides a few stragglers.
• Sweat the trinity over medium-low for the full 10 to 15 minutes. The longer slow cook builds the flavor base. Rushing this step gives you raw-tasting onion in the dip.
• Three peppers is the Cajun trick. Black brings heat, white brings funk, Tabasco brings the vinegar punch. Skip any one and the dip falls flat.
• Stir the crab in gently. Aggressive stirring breaks up the lump pieces and you end up with shreds instead of chunks.
• Keep the dip warm in a chafing dish or small slow cooker on low for parties. Cold cream sauce stiffens.

Variations

• Cheese-loaded: stir in 1 cup grated Gruyere or sharp cheddar at the end for a richer, gooier version.
• Smoky: add 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika to the seasoning mix for a Spanish-influenced twist.
• Shrimp swap: replace half the crab with chopped cooked shrimp for a seafood medley dip.