Chef Jeffery Hansell has received much-deserved recognition for this Gulf-inspired, Southern fare dished out at Covington’s Oxlot 9. This small-town eatery is tucked inside the restored Southern Hotel. Seasonal ingredients highlight the region’s flavors, and Chef Hansell’s approach celebrates the South’s heritage in his regional cuisine. Today he is sharing his recipe for stuffed blue crab.
Stuffed Blue Crab
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 medium shallots minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 rib celery minced
- ½ poblano pepper deseeded & minced
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1½ to 2 cups crab stock
- 1 small loaf stale French bread small dice
- 1 lb. lump crabmeat
- ½ tbsp. chopped fresh dill
- ½ tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 6 cleaned crab shells
Brown butter sabayon
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 tbsp. verjus
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. white pepper
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 lb. browned butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in saucepan. On medium heat, sweat the shallots, garlic, celery and poblano pepper in butter about 3–4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Turn the heat up to high and season with salt and paprika, and add crab stock to deglaze the pan, scraping the bits of caramelized vegetables off the bottom of the pan. Once stock has come to a boil, turn down heat to a slow simmer for 3–4 minutes. Start slowly adding French bread little by little until most of the liquid is soaked up. Remove mixture from heat and set aside. In large bowl mix together crabmeat, dill, parsley, and bread mixture. Stuff into crab shells. Top with Brown Butter Sabayon (recipe follows) and bake at 350°F until tops are browned and stuffing is hot (about 4 minutes).
- In a medium bowl over double boiler on medium-low heat, combine all ingredients except for the browned butter. Constantly whisk mixture until it becomes thick and mousse-like. Turn down heat to lowest simmer on double boiler and begin to slowly add browned butter while continuing to quickly whisk. Once you have emulsified all of the butter, set aside in a warm place. If mixture begins to become too thick, add a splash of warm water to thin
Nutrition
Crab image:Â Oxlot 9 | Headshot: Stephen DeVries