Baltimore Baked Stuffed Shrimp with Crab

In this special-occasion recipe, colossal shrimp are spread open, packed with a buttery stuffing, and baked until the stuffing is crisp and the shrimp are just cooked through. But after preparing several cookbook recipes, we realized that there are two big problems—mushy, bland stuffing and shrimp as chewy as rubber bands. We wanted crisp, flavorful stuffing and perfectly cooked shrimp without heading to a restaurant. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Our tasters preferred the sweet flavor of fresh bread crumbs. Toasting the bread crumbs before baking helped ensure a crispy baked stuffing.
• Butterflying the shrimp allowed us to press the stuffing into the shrimp—as the shrimp contracted in the oven, the stuffing was sealed into place.
• To make sure the stuffing was crispy without overcooking the shrimp, we cooked the shrimp for a longer time at a lower temperature.