Devilled Crabs
Mix 2 Cans of crabs with 1 cupful of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoonfuls of melted butter, half a cupful of rolled cracker crumbs, a wineglassful of sherry, the yolks of 3 hard-boiled eggs, a little nutmeg, and pepper and salt to taste. Bake in shells, sprinkle with cracker crumbs, and place a small piece of butter on each.
A late-Victorian chafing-dish standard, written for cooks who kept crab shells in the cupboard and needed no oven temperature told to them. The gaps are all in the finishing, not the mixing.
- Oven and timingNo temperature is given; a coal range was not set by thermometer. A modern equivalent is roughly 400F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crumb top is browned and the mixture is bubbling. The crab is already cooked, so you are only heating it through and colouring the top.
- A wineglassfulIn cookbooks of this period a wineglass is about 2 fluid ounces, or a quarter cup. Combined with two tablespoons of Worcestershire, the seasoning is assertive; taste before it goes into the shells.
- Canned crabPeriod can sizes varied, so the intended quantity is uncertain; something in the region of a pound total of crabmeat is a workable guess. Modern canned or pasteurised refrigerated lump crab works directly; drain it well or the mixture will be loose.
- Cracker crumbsRolled cracker crumbs means plain soda or water crackers crushed with a rolling pin, not seasoned breadcrumbs. Saltines are the closest match, and if you use them, cut back on the added salt.
- The egg yolksPushing the hard-boiled yolks through a sieve before adding them will distribute them evenly; left whole or roughly chopped they stay as yellow lumps. The recipe itself gives no instruction either way.
- ShellsCleaned crab backs are traditional; scallop shells or small ramekins do the same job. Fill them loosely rather than packing, and set them on a sheet pan so they do not tip.
- YieldEnough for six generously filled shells, or four as a light main course.