Crab imperial is an old-guard classic consisting of crabmeat bound in a creamy sauce and topped with crumbs. It’s decadently rich and expensive to make--crabmeat costs a pretty penny these days. Despite the dish’s richness, it is typically pretty bland. All the cream and crumbs have a way of muting flavors. We wanted to develop a recipe that accomplished two things: make the flavors strong and minimize the amount of crab required. Here’s what we discovered:
Bulk up the crab with cheaper white fish like cod. We found the differences were slight between batches made with all crab and batches that were part crab, part cod.
Season the casserole liberally with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, Tabasco sauce, and Old Bay Seasoning. The rich cream cheese and breadcrumb topping mutes the flavors.
Bake the assembled casserole in a hot oven (400 degrees) to brown the crumbs quickly so that the crabmeat won’t overcook.
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