Crab Imperial

History of Crab Imperial

Clementine Paddleford in How America Eats (1960), a cookbook and travelogue that provides insight into this country's dining tastes in the middle of the 20th century, asked Mary Turner if there was any one food belonging especially to Washington. Paddleford, who was food editor for the New York Herald Tribune, was interviewing the director of the Home Service Bureau of the Potomac Electric Power Company, a home economist who oversaw cooking classes for the utility's customers. Mary Turner said, "Yes, the blue crab of the Chesapeake."

It is interesting that the recipe Mary Turner gave to show off Washington's regional delicacy was not for crab cakes but for crab imperial.

Crab cakes were to crab imperial what meatloaf was to prime rib. This sentiment had been voiced 20 years earlier in New York World's Fair Cookbook: The American Kitchen, a treasury of regional recipes assembled by Crosby Gaige that was the official cookbook of the 1939 New York World's Fair. In the section devoted to Maryland, Gaige heralds the recipe for crab imperial as "the most typical of quality dining in all of Maryland." The recipe for crab cakes that immediately follows is all but dismissed: "This is more of a home dish."

Considering crab imperial a superior dish to crab cakes reflects an understanding that the sweetness of jumbo lump crab is best appreciated in the simplest preparations. The lesser grades of crabmeat, such as "regular" and "special," are more suitable for the stretchers, binders, and seasonings used to make crab cakes. Through family recipes in Maryland's Way, a great regional cookbook published by the Hammond-Harwood House Association in Annapolis, one can trace the making of crab cakes back to the early part of the 19th century. Crab imperial is of more recent origin, first served at a Baltimore restaurant called Thompson's Sea Girt House in the late 19th century. Yet while crab cakes are ubiquitous in this area, crab imperial is less frequently encountered today.

When jumbo lump crabmeat was much less expensive than it is today, some chefs began eliminating the soaked bread or cracker crumbs that were traditional fillers, binders, and stretchers. The result was a luxury-class crab cake with almost as much natural sweetness as crab imperial.

What is Crab Imperial

Crab Imperial is a classic American dish served in a decorative crab or scallop shell. The ingredients consist of crab meat mixed with mayonnaise and seasonings placed into the shell, topped with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, and baked before serving. Additional ingredients commonly used are green or red peppers, pea shoots, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, minced parsley, and minced shallots. Crab Imperial is usually served with toasts, saltines, or other crackers.

There are other recipes that call for a sherried white sauce. The crab is then spooned into a crab or scallop shell, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese or bread crumbs and baked until golden brown. The recipe on the left uses mayonaise as a base; the one on the right used a sherried white sauce.

When working with crab meat, take care not to pull apart the lumps of meat and always use a fork when combining your ingredients. Never break apart or mash the crabmeat.