My mother’s family lived on the eastern shores of southern Delaware and southern Maryland. My mother loved to serve her mother’s Imperial Crab recipe at special dinner parties for her family and friends. This entrée was always delicious and received many compliments every time she served this dish. Many members of her family are still serving Imperial Crab in their homes and still receiving rave reviews.
1 hard-cooked egg, minced and mashed into a paste
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 slices day-old white bread, finely crumbled
3 tablespoons minced pimiento
3 tablespoons minced green bell pepper, parboiled for 5 minutes
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper
2 pounds back-fin crabmeat
6 glass crab shells
Paprika
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly combine the hard-cooked egg, beaten egg, bread, pimiento, bell pepper, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold in the crabmeat. Grease the crab shells with additional butter. Place the crab mixture in the shells and mound it high. Put a dollop of mayonnaise on the tops of the mounds. Sprinkle the tops with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes or until slightly brown on the tops.
YIELD: 6 SERVINGS
Bernice Wilson
Lawrenceville, Georgia