BAKED CRAB WITH GARLIC-CHILE BUTTER

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Baked Crab with Garlic-Chile Butter image

This baked crab is a cross between a crab cake and crab dip. It's full of crab and has tons of flavor from the garlic-chile butter, which is good on anything, especially crab, lobsters and oysters! It's a perfect summertime treat. I spend a lot of time in Delaware and Maryland during the summer and there's always lots of crab around!

Provided by Josh Capon

Categories     appetizer

Time 30m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

1 pound fresh jumbo lump crabmeat or lump crabmeat (or a combination of the two)
1 cup Garlic-Chile Butter, recipe follows
Kosher salt
Crostini, recipe follows
Parsley sprigs, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped Calabrian chiles, jalapenos or red finger chiles
2 ounces Romano cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Italian or French bread, sliced 1/4 inch thick on a slight bias
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

  • Remove the garlic chile-butter from the refrigerator and using a spoon, scrape about 1 cup of the butter into shards. Add 3/4 cup of the shards to a small bowl; set aside the remaining shards.
  • Add the crabmeat to the small bowl and toss gently with the butter to avoid breaking up the crab too much. Lightly season with salt. Transfer to a broiler-safe baking dish, such as ceramic (but not glass) that's about 7 by 5 inches in size (or similar) and top with the remaining butter pieces.
  • Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
  • When ready to serve, preheat the broiler to medium-high.
  • Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet and remove the plastic wrap. Broil until the top is golden brown and bubbling, rotating the dish a few times so it browns evenly, 7 to 10 minutes total. Carefully remove the dish from the broiler.
  • Garnish the dish with a few sprigs of parsley and a few lemon wedges to squeeze over the top. Serve with the crostini.
  • Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. Alternatively, mix the ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
  • Freeze the butter just until firm enough to shave with a spoon, about 10 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 1 week in an airtight container. Alternatively, transfer the butter to a sheet of parchment paper and form into a log. Wrap tightly with the parchment and plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. Makes about 2 cups.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Place the bread on a baking sheet and season with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
  • Bake until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to serve.

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