Crab Bread Pudding
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When I make anything with crab meat, it immediately reminds me of the Eastern Shore. There is nothing like a good ol’ Maryland crab feast. It brings together friends, family and good eats and drinks. So, I immediately thought of this band that I discovered while working in Ocean City, MD. Mad Sweet Pangs are incredibly talented, and just an all around fun live band. I’m getting some “mad sweet pangs” for a bushel of steamed crabs just thinking about it, but this delicious Crab Bread Pudding will have to hold me over until my next trip back East.
Being from Maryland, my family eats a lot of crabmeat. We make crab cakes, crab balls, crab dip, crab soup, crab quiche and crab benedicts. It’s a treat and a tradition. Having been a vegetarian for over a decade, it was pretty easy for me to start incorporating seafood in my diet once I was back on the East Coast. However, I am always looking for new, unique dishes to use this wonderful shellfish. I came across a recipe in Food and Wine Magazine a few months ago for a “buttery crab bread pudding”. I added a lot more crabmeat and a bit more of my favorite seafood spices. I served this at a recent “farewell party” that we had before we headed out to work on the West Coast, and it got a ton of positive reviews.
I made everything but the custard a few hours ahead of time, and I just kept it in the fridge until about an hour before people started arriving. There was so much food at the house from our guests that we did have a few slices of it left over; however, they heated up great the next day in the oven.
TIP: Picking all of the cartilage and shells out of a pound of crabmeat can be time consuming. Here’s a quick way to find the pieces to pick out: Heat the oven to 350º. Spread the crabmeat out on a cookie sheet. Heat the crabmeat up for a few minutes in the oven. Don’t leave it in for too long or the crabmeat will dry out. The shells and cartilage will turn white (instead of the clear color they are normally), and you’ll be able to pick them out more easily.
- 1 lb lump crabmeat, cleaned of shells and cartilage (see TIP above)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (set aside a couple tsp for garnish)
- 1 tsp (or more) crushed garlic
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning (Old Bay is a great alternative for an authentic East Coast flavor)
- ½ stick butter, softened
- 3 T olive oil
- A blend of seasonings for the bread (Try McCormick’s Garlic Pepper for a great kick, or a blend of pepper, salt, garlic powder)
- 1 baguette (a little dry and crusty works great)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
How we did it:
- Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a ceramic baking dish (9”x13”).
- In a medium bowl, mix the crabmeat, parsley, garlic, lemon and Cajun seasoning.
- Slice the baguette into ½” – ¾” slices.
- Mix together the softened butter, olive oil and blend of seasonings. Spread each baguette slice with the butter blend.
- In the ceramic dish, alternate the bread slices with the crab mixture. You’ll have two rows of bread slices with the crabmeat stuffed in between.
- Mix up the custard (eggs, milk and half-and-half) in a separate bowl. (I added another teaspoon or so of Old Bay seasoning to spice it up a bit more). Pour the mixture over the bread and crab. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes to an hour. The custard needs to set and it will get slightly brown on top. Remove from the oven and let it set for 15 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and prepare to wow your friends!!
