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| What You Need: |
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10 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound (about 3 cups) fresh, frozen or canned crabmeat, thoroughly drained and picked over to remove all bits of shell and cartilage
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley plus fresh parsley sprigs for garnish, both preferably the flat leaf Italian variety
¼ cup finely chopped scallions, including 3 inches of the green tops
3 eggs
3 cups soft fresh crumbs made from French- or Italian-type bread, pulverized in a blender
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cooked blue-crab claws, in their shells (optional)
1 lemon, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
Creole tartar sauce
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| How To Cook: |
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1. In a heavy 1- to 1½-quart saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat. Add the flour and mix well. Stirring constantly with a wire whisk, pour in the milk in a slow, thin stream and cook over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, thickens heavily and is smooth. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 or 3 minutes.
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2. Stir in the red pepper and salt and, with a rubber spatula, scrape the entire contents of the pan into a deep bowl. Add the crabmeat, chopped parsley and scallions, and mix all the ingredients gently but thoroughly.
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3. Taste for seasoning. Cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the crab mixture is somewhat firm.
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4. Break the eggs into a shallow bowl and beat them to a froth with a fork or wire whisk. Spread the bread crumbs on a platter or a piece of wax paper. Divide the crab mixture into six equal portions and, with your hand, pat each portion into a teardrop-shaped "chop" about 5 inches long and ½ inch thick.
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5. As you form each chop, place it in the bread crumbs and turn it carefully to coat both sides. Immerse the chop in the beaten eggs and then turn it over in the crumbs again to bread it evenly. As you proceed, arrange the crab chops side by side in a large pan lined with wax paper. Refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes to firm the coating.
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6. In a heavy 12-inch skillet, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter with the oil over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the crab chops and, turning them once with a metal spatula, fry them for about 10 minutes, or until they are delicately browned on both sides.
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7. Arrange the crab chops on a heated platter or individual plates and, if you wish, insert a crab claw at the narrow end of each chop. Garnish with the lemon wedges and parsley sprigs, and serve the crab chops at once, accompanied by a bowl of Creole tartar sauce.
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