Devilled crab on sourdough toast
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Josh Eggleton salutes the iconic produce of the West Country in his devilled crab recipe, melding the fresh flavours of crab and cider with pungent, beautifully creamy Cheddar cheese. This recipe works equally well with ale or with herbs such as parsley or tarragon. Try it with your favourite bread, substitute the lemon juice with lime, and serve with a selection of pickled vegetables to create your own unique twist.
First published in 2016
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Devilled crab
- 250g of white crab meat, picked through for broken shell
- 10g of unsalted butter
- 10g of plain flour
- 125ml of cider
- 120g of cheddar, grated
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Tabasco to taste
- fresh coriander to taste, chopped, plus extra for garnishing
- lemon juice to taste
- salt
- black pepper
To serve
- 4 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Mix in the flour with a spatula and cook very gently for 2 minutes
- 10g of unsalted butter
- 10g of plain flour
2
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in half of the cider. Return the pan to the heat and whisk again until the mixture thickens
- 62.5ml of cider
3
Whilst still over the heat, pour in the remaining cider and continue to whisk. Once the sauce is smooth, whisk in the mustard and the Worcestershire sauce
- 62.5ml of cider
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4
After about 10 minutes of gentle cooking, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheese a little at a time
- 120g of cheddar, grated
5
Once the cheese is fully incorporated, transfer the sauce to a bowl and leave to cool
6
Place the crab meat on a clean kitchen cloth and pull up the sides of the cloth to form a sack. Twist the sack over a sink to squeeze any excess water out of the crab meat
- 250g of white crab meat, picked through for broken shell
7
Gently mix the drained crab meat into the cheese sauce
8
Season with salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, coriander and lemon juice – make sure you keep trying the mix to make sure it is to your liking
- Tabasco to taste
- fresh coriander to taste, chopped
- lemon juice to taste
- salt
- black pepper
9
Spread the crab rarebit as thickly as desired over the freshly toasted sourdough and place under a grill until golden
- 4 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
10
Serve by itself, sprinkled with freshly chopped coriander, or with a selection of pickled vegetables such as sliced gherkins, onions and pickled carrots
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