Hot Cheddar Crab Dip
By Matthew FairmanPublished on August 23, 2021
Time
45 minutes
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If you can't find fresh crab, refrigerated pasteurized crab is the next-best option. Lump, backfin (special), and claw meat all work well here. This recipe can easily be doubled to serve a crowd. For the best results, we recommend using good-quality aged cheddar cheese and shredding it on a box grater. The finished dip goes great with a little extra Worcestershire and some Tabasco sauce on top. Serve with toasted baguette slices or crackers.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, 1 teaspoon thyme, salt, cayenne, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in milk and Worcestershire and bring to simmer. Cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Whisk in ¾ cup cheddar until melted. Off heat, gently stir in crabmeat. Transfer crab dip to shallow broiler-safe 1-quart baking dish.
- Sprinkle remaining ¾ cup cheddar over crab dip, followed by paprika. Broil until cheese is well browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle dip with remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Let dip cool for 5 minutes. Serve.
TO MAKE AHEAD: At end of step 2, let dip cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, unwrap and bake at 400 degrees until hot throughout, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir dip and continue with step 3.
Time
45 minutesYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
This dip was inspired by one from French-influenced Cajun Louisiana, where it's called crab au gratin. For our perfectly creamy, irresistibly dippable version, we began by making a base that was essentially a traditional French Mornay sauce (a cheese-laden cream sauce) that was boldly seasoned with distinctly Cajun ingredients. We built the sauce by sautéing onion, bell pepper, and celery in a generous amount of butter before flavoring the mix with fresh garlic, thyme, cayenne, and black pepper; adding ultrasavory Worcestershire sauce layered in spice and umami. We took care when sourcing the two starring ingredients, seeking out a good-quality aged cheddar and the best crabmeat available. Aged cheddars are not only salty and sharp but also pleasantly sour and buttery. When melted into the already flavorful base of this crab dip, they added incomparable depth. We found that we preferred freshly cooked and picked unpasteurized crab here, but we also loved the test kitchen's winning refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat, Phillips Premium Crab Jumbo. It's fresh-tasting and sweet, with a pleasant mild brininess. When carefully stirred into the delightful Mornay sauce, topped with more good-quality cheddar, and broiled briefly until beautifully browned and bubbling, it lightened and invigorated the dip.
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