Ybor City Deviled Crab Recipes

Steps:

• Dough Recipe: The dough must be prepared and refrigerated, preferably overnight. Remove crust from bread; soak in water for 1/2 hour. Drain and squeeze thoroughly. Add paprika and salt. Add the bread crumbs and work to form a dough, place in refrigerator to chill thoroughly.
• Crab Meat Filling: Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Saute the onion and green pepper until transparent. Add the garlic and saute all until soft.Combine salt, hot sauce, sugar, bay leaf, parsley, tomato sauce and the nutmeg. Add to saute and mix well. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hr (add water if needed during cooking time). Add the crab meat and sherry. Mix well and cook covered another 10 minute Cool and refrigerate.
• Preparation of the Croquettes: Remove dough and filling from refrigerator.Take 2 generous tablespoons Of dough in palm of your left hand. Indent with the back of a spoon in the center enough to fill with a tablespoons Of crab meat filling. Work dough around filling to form a croquette.
• Prepare a mixture of 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons Of water, salt and pepper and beat. vigorously. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs with 1/2 cup of all purpose flour. Mix well. Dip croquettes first in the egg mixture, then roll in the crumb flour mixture to coat well. Place croquettes side by side in a shallow dish. Cover with Saran Wrap or foil and refrigerate at least 1 hour before frying in deep fat.(Make sure you have lots of your favorite red pepper sauce available to pour onto them, it makes them even more delicious.).

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter, pour into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the sherry, lemon juice, cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Add the egg, break it up with the whisk, and whisk to combine.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss the crab with your hands (feel for any missed shell remnants and remove) with the grated egg, scallions, jalapeños, and ½ cup bread crumbs. Add the butter mixture to the crab, tossing with your hands to evenly and gently combine. The mixture will be halfway between sticky and crumbly, but easy enough to compress into a cake. (Microwave or fry a small sample to check for spiciness. If planning to make crab cakes, form the cakes and refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes, or longer if wrapped in plastic wrap.).
• Using a 1/3 cup measure as a mold, pack the crab mixture into 10 portions, then either press the patties into cleaned crab shells or turn out onto a greased baking sheet if you intend to make crab cakes. Arrange the filled crab shells, if using, on a baking sheet. Top each portion with a sprinkling of the remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into 10 thin pats and set on top of each portion of crab.
• Bake in the oven on the middle rack for about 20 minutes, until the crab is slightly browned and drying on top. Remove, garnish each with a pinch of cayenne and some parsley, if using, and serve immediately with lemon wedges. (If making cakes, flip each cake once before garnishing and serving, as the bottom side will have browned more alluringly.).