Baked Crab Dip

Author: Peter Hartman

Figure 1 Image Source: Fisherwoman with Alaskan Red King Crab

There are many different types of crab that are regularly consumed but for those living well away from the sea or in winter usually have their options limited by local economic conditions and so when making dips such as this the processed variety of crab meat is often all that can be obtained. Fortunately it will do just fine.

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound (450 Grams) of Crab Meat
• 1 Large Onion
• 1 Shallot
• 4 Ounces of Cream Cheese
• 1½ Cups of Cottage Cheese
• ½ Cup of Old Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed if at all possible)
• 1 Teaspoon each of Worcestershire Sauce, Dry Mustard Powder and Minced Garlic
• 3-4 Dashes of Tabasco Sauce

Note: To reduce the calorific content you can use the “light” varieties of the cottage cheese and the cream cheese.

The mud crab is a real favorite here in Australia and without doubt the tropical varieties are the most prized apart from the Morton Bay mud crab that is.

Figure 2 Morton Bay Mud Crab Image Source: Mud Crab

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Grate the cheddar cheese
3. Peel and finely mince the onion
4. Dice the shallot into 1/8 inch wide rings. Use both white and green parts of the shallot
5. Chop the crab meat into very fine pieces. Please use a chopping knife to do this and not a food processor as it always shows in the taste for some reason or other.
6. Blend the cottage cheese and the cream cheese together until they are well and truly combined and become smooth like a paste (using a blender or food processor is the fastest way of doing this)
7. Mix in the onion, grated cheddar cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire Sauce, dry mustard powder, minced garlic, and Tabasco sauce. Combine thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the mixture. If you must add salt use freshly ground sea salt and add it at this stage.
8. Once all of the other ingredients have been combined and mixed add in the crab meat. Stir the crab meat into the mix to distribute it more or less evenly throughout the mixture. Transfer ingredients to a casserole dish (preferably glass) then put into preheated oven at 350 degrees F and bake for around 25 minutes.
9. Once cooked give the dip mixture a stir and then transfer portions of dip mixture to serving bowls and sprinkle the ring diced shallots over the top of the dip. Cover with cling plastic film and place any of the bowls with dip that are not going to be immediately consumed into the refrigerator ready to be brought out as and when necessary.

Serving:

Serve this party dip with your favorite type of cracker. You can also use corn chips or potato crisps as well as nacho chips or oven baked pita chips to accompany the dip.

This dip also makes a great accompaniment to vegetable spring rolls.

Tip: As a variation consider adding a sprinkle of Bar-B-Q seasoning to some of the dip. It is a good idea not to have spoons lying around near this dip as on more than one occasion we have had guests dig into it ladling spoonfuls directly to their mouths. If this happens the dip may last about 2 or 3 minutes tops.

Figure 3 Image Source: Blue Crab on Market

Most of all do enjoy!