Baked Crab and Shrimp is an étouffée-style crab dish that starts with the holy trinity of Cajun cooking celery, onion, and green bell pepper. If you don’t have fish stock available, use clam juice. Serve this with rice, corn bread, or a side dish of baked onions.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
- 2 stalks celery, minced
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 green bell pepper, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Large pinch of ground cayenne pepper
- Large pinch of chili powder
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups fish stock
- 1½ cups lump crabmeat
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced thin
- Rice, corn bread, or baked onions, for serving
How to Make It
- Preheat the broiler.
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast-iron pan over medium heat.
- Add the celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, cayenne, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft. Do not let the vegetables brown. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly with the flour and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Slowly add the stock. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, and cook until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the crab, shrimp, and cream to the vegetables and raise the heat slightly. Cook until the shrimp has turned pink, about 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the breadcrumbs and scallions in a small bowl. Scatter over the skillet mixture.
- Place the skillet under the broiler and cook until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Serve family-style.
