Is It Fancy? Is It Trashy? This Sizzling Dip Doesn’t Care.

As I’ve shared with Severe Eats readers earlier than, I do know my method round a crab. I used to be raised by a mom from Maryland’s Jap Shore who believed that it was simply as vital for me to be expert at selecting aside a crab and consuming each final shred of meat and drop of mustard gunk because it was to study to stroll and browse. At household crab feasts, she inspected my pile of shells, partly to verify I wasn’t tarnishing the household identify, and partly as a result of perhaps—simply perhaps—there was some hidden morsel nonetheless in want of consuming after she had completed all of hers. (There by no means was.)

My frequent childhood journeys to Maryland to go to my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins virtually at all times revolved round tables strewn with Previous Bay–crusted jumbos, heaping crab truffles, bowls of she-crab soup, sautéed softshells, or a piping scorching dish of crab imperial. One recipe that wasn’t in my household’s rotation throughout that period: this spicy crab dip.

I did not develop up with scorching crab dip, however one style was all it took to rekindle my crustacean-loving sense recollections—licking salty, spicy, crab-stained fingers, pruned and stinging from the tiny cuts and punctures that include a correct crab feast. Although with the dip, you get all that wealthy crab taste and ample Previous Bay seasoning layered right into a baking dish of molten goo with none of the finger accidents or salt-chapped lips.

And here is the factor: That molten goo is scrumptious, even when it is undeniably junky and maybe an affront to the crab purists of the world (amongst whom I depend myself). Mixing stunning lumps of blue crab right into a wealthy however lowbrow mixture of cream cheese, mayo, bitter cream, Previous Bay, garlic powder, cayenne, scorching sauce, grated cheddar cheese, and Worcestershire sauce could seem to be sacrilege, nevertheless it’s damned tasty sacrilege. And, to be honest, the crab taste nonetheless comes by way of loud and clear, so no actual hurt accomplished.

Put one other method, this scorching and spicy dip is a incredible solution to stretch a can of crab (sure, a can—there isn’t any method I am selecting all that meat by hand to place it in a dip) and serve a crowd of family and friends some signature Maryland taste. Watch out, although: You could not have shell-injured fingers consuming this, however you could possibly simply burn your style buds off when you soar in too eagerly as soon as it comes out of the oven. It is laborious to withstand, however let it cool just a bit, OK?

Prepare dinner Mode
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