When he was three years old, my grandpa emigrated from Hungary. To give him a flavor of home, my grandmother prepared this dish. It still tastes great despite being Americanized. While we kids just ate it plain, he added sour cream to his. Grandma’s cooking had more of a casserole or stew consistency than a soupy one.
Prep Time: | 15 mins |
Cook Time: | 20 mins |
Total Time: | 35 mins |
Servings: | 4 |
Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound crabmeat
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup fresh bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- In a medium bowl, combine crab meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, and beaten egg.. Mix thoroughly.
- In an 8″ pie dish, spread mixture and lightly coat the entire dish with bread crumbs. Then sprinkle the top with paprika. Dot the dish with the butter.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Calories | 450 kcal |
Carbohydrate | 8 g |
Cholesterol | 166 mg |
Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
Protein | 28 g |
Saturated Fat | 9 g |
Sodium | 1087 mg |
Sugars | 1 g |
Fat | 34 g |
Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I thought there was a bit too much cayenne but hubby loved it that way. Very moist and flavorful. I’ll definitely make it again.
I dont know but I wanted to try a new receipe for imperial and I was worried when I saw how few wet ingredients were involved but based on the reviews plowed ahead and gave it a whirl. So used grade A Maryland blue crab backfin since that’s what I grew up with and all I can stomach but this turned out very dry and not at all exciting. Basically flavored lump crab with scrambled eggs on it. The flavors are great but not at all what we call crab imperial in Maryland/Baltimore/Eastern Shore but would definitely work just north of state line in Delaware or elsewhere. It should be somewhere between a dip and a really heavy soup and lean more towards a mustard spicy old bay creamy concoction. Pretty much a different take on crab dip without the melted cheese on top. This recipe is closer to a crab cake recipe without pressing into cakes and broiling it. This did go nice with my steak and potatoes tonight for dinner but wanted to throw this out there for anyone thinking this would be similar to what you would get at a Maryland beach resort. I can save this and will be making it back into crab cakes tomorrow. Just for future reference(my opinion)Maryland blue crab is the best. Trust me I have tried many others. If you want your crab recipe to taste like a Maryland recipe, keep it simple. Awesome crab will speak for itself. Mayonaise, an egg, WO sauce, a dash of good dijon mustard and never forget or substitute the oldbay. Secret ingredient in any crab dish is dry sherry.
Too much salt and no flavor. Save the crab for a better recipe
This was delicious. I lessened the amount of salt and cayenne pepper used and added a tad bit more lemon juice. I also used this as a stuffing for my rock fish. FANTASTIC!
We did not care for this at all. Did not smell good while cooking, came out mushy and we did not like the flavor.
Excellent
My Grandson and I made this, and thought it was really good! The only thing we would change is to use a little less salt.
I made the recipe last evening, and followed the instructions exactly. Found this to be dry. It tasted fine, but did not have the creamy texture I was looking for. Disappointed because a pound of crabmeat is very expensive.
I made this last night, my only tweak was to half the amount u f cayenne pepper. My husband loved it I will definitely make it again.
Made this for Mother’s Day and Mom loved this recipe. I confused it with another recipe and added a chopped red bell pepper and it worked well. I used claw meat and it was fine ( IMHO Lump crabmeat is too precious to mix with other ingredients) This is not a creamy crab imperial but rather a showcase for crab flavor. If you are sensitive to heat, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper.
I made this exactly as is. Did not like the texture. The crab imperial I’m used to is more buttery and “cooked”. This seemed as if I didn’t bake it at all and I did follow the directions. The only takeaway is one review that suggested putting this over chicken breasts. I’ll do that with the leftovers. Sorry but not a winner for me.
I made this dish last night for dinner and it was a great hit. I left out the salt and most of the Cayenne pepper based on many comments.
With exception of picking through the crab, it was pretty easy to make, which I did exactly as written, but added small diced roasted red peppers. VERY dry, flavor ok but not spectacular. Served it on toast points. Definitely not the CI I was looking to recreate from a favorite restaurant that doesn’t serve it any longer. Won’t do again.
I followed some of the suggestions others made to reduce salt, and lightened it up by cutting the mayo by half. Also added 1/2 a diced red bell pepper. Topped it with crushed Ritz crackers and dotted with butter. Delicious on its own, over grilled chicken, and as a dip!
The recipe is a good one, but I will need to tweak it considerably for my family’s personal tastes. It came out very hot, and that’s not something we enjoy. However, the texture is good, and made in small individual ramekins, it was delicious. I think instead of Old Bay and mustard next time, I will be using parsley, lemon peel, black pepper, shallots, and roasted garlic.
No changes were made to the recipe; it was excellent as written.
This was good. I took some others advice and reduced the cayenne pepper so my 2 year old granddaughter could eat it. I also cut the salt and went with a little extra old bay. It turned out great and my granddaughter absolutely loved it.
I use egg whites only, not an entire egg. Makes it much fluffier. And I only mix a tiny amount of imperial with the crab. The rest goes on top – other wise you will get over browned crab bits on top that are not tasty. No salt.
This was very good. I followed the recipe exactly and will make it again. I thought it was just slightly dry, so next time I may add about a TBSP of cream/half and half to the mayo. I will also go a little heavier on the Old Bay, as we like spicy. And, I must say, being from Maryland, that you should use Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab meat for the best possible outcome! Great recipe!
Okay, fabulous as written and 20 years ago I would have made it that way. But my tummy can no longer handle real spicy stuff (jalapeno poppers are a challenge), so I left out the cayenne entirely. To compensate for that, I upped the Old Bay some. To compensate for the additional Old Bay, I left out the salt entirely as well. And since I was nearly done with the mixing before I discovered that I have exactly NO bread in the house, I topped it with grated Monterey Jack instead. It was good that way, too. This recipe is so easy to adjust to individual tastes and needs, I’m very surprised at the low ratings I’ve seen. I also used a cake pan instead of a pie plate. I have a feeling that it didn’t detract from (or improve) the finished product.
I love this recipe. I use it as filling in a crescent ring.