Deviled Crabs

Photo: flickr user Jeffrey Beall

Ingredients

cup Finely chopped sweet onion

cup Finely chopped celery

pound Unsalted butter

8 Saltines crushed

Lemon or to taste

1 pound Crabmeat

3 tablespoons Amontillado sherry to 6 tbsps, to taste

8 to 10 Crab backs or scallop shells sterilized

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onion and celery in the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until very limp. Let cool completely, then mix with the saltines. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon, more or less to taste, over the crabmeat. Lightly fold the crabmeat into the mixture so that you do not break it up. Season to taste with sherry. Pack into shells and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until just heated through and lightly b

This recipe serves 8 to 10.

Comments: Deviled crabs in the Lowcountry are often called simply "deb'l."

This recipe is from Alice Marks, one of Charleston's great cooks. She packs the devil into crab backs or scallop shells, wraps them well in aluminum foil, then freezes them for reheating later. One filled shell makes a rich appetizer or supper dish; serve two as dinner.