This classic presentation of a timeless favorite is so easy to make it almost makes itself. And once you’ve tasted the decadent flavor of my crab imperial, it will become one of your all-time favorite recipes.
You don’t see Crab Imperial on the menu very often anymore, and it’s a shame. Besides being a classic restaurant dish, it’s a delicious way to serve lump crabmeat. And this is the same stuffing I use for my Stuffed Flounder.
Other than simply sauteing crabmeat in butter there is no better way to serve Jumbo Lump crabmeat than a golden brown baked crab imperial. Serve it with your favorite sauteed greens and roasted potatoes for a delicious restaurant-style dinner.
What is Crab Imperial?
Crab Imperial is a dish made up of crab meat mixed with an imperial sauce then baked to golden perfection.
You might call it Virginia Crab Imperial, Maryland Style, or Jersey Shore style, but no matter who claims this Eastern Shore Classic, you’re sure to call it delicious.
What is an Imperial Sauce?
An Imperial Sauce is a mixture of mayonnaise, whole eggs or egg yolks, and seasonings, usually including Old Bay. It’s really easy to make and can be used with every type of crabmeat including imitation crabmeat.
**Hellman’s Mayonnaise is best for this recipe, it holds up well to heat.
What ingredients do I need to make Crab Imperial?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make this American Classic. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
What Type of Crabmeat Can I Use?
The source of the crab meat can be from any part of the world that has crabs and includes varieties such as Blue Swimming, Dungeness, Snow, King and of course my favorite Blue Claw.
- Jumbo Lump
- Lump
- Backfin
- Claw
- Imitation Crabmeat
How do I make Old Bay Seasoning?
If you can’t find Old Bay at your markets it’s easy enough to make at home.
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 2 teaspoons ground bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 pinch ginger
If you’d rather not make the seasoning, you can always use the recipe as a guideline and use seasonings that you enjoy eating with seafood.
Do you add peppers to crab imperial?
That’s a big no! This dish would never, ever contain bell peppers or onions.
How do I make imperial sauce?
The first step is making the Imperial sauce for the dish. Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
The next step is mixing the imperial sauce into the crabmeat…. gently! You don’t want to break up the crabmeat, so mix carefully.
**Don’t add all the sauce at one time. Reserve about ¼ of the sauce to add in if needed. The larger the pieces of crabmeat, the less sauce you will need. Smaller pieces will take more sauce. If you oversauce the mixture you can always add a tablespoon of bread crumbs if you can’t drain out the excess sauce. Let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes and it will absorb some of the sauce, so the mixture isn’t as loose.
Then place the crab imperial mixture into a Scallops Shells or your choice of baking dish and place it on the center rack of your oven for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Should I top Crab Imperial with Bread Crumbs?
While the bread crumbs may add texture and color to the dish, they are just stealing flavor from the crab meat. So I would never top something as elegant and delicious as crab imperial with bread crumbs.
What Else Can I use Crab Imperial For?
This crabmeat mixture is perfect for stuffing Lobster, Shrimp, or Mushrooms. And if you love crab meat make sure to try my Famous Crab Cakes Recipe!
Wouldn’t you love to sit down to this delicious dish? My Maryland Style Crab Imperial was always a hit at my restaurant and one taste will make you understand why.
Cooking Tip:
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes (top will turn golden brown) or until a thermometer gets an internal reading of 165 degrees. This will ensure that the eggs in this recipe are fully cooked and safe to eat.
Using a digital insta-read thermometer will help you cook this dish to perfection and be a great help in your kitchen.
If you’re looking for an easy meal for a special occasion, or if you just want to treat yourself, do try this classic dish, you’ll be very happy you did!
Recipe FAQ’s
Crab Imperial is a dish made up of (any type) crab meat mixed with an imperial sauce. It’s then baked to a golden perfection
No, freezing crab meat is not a good idea. The imperial sauce is not enough to offer protection from freezing and you’ll be left with a very unsatisfying crab dish.
Crab Imperial has a sweet and savory flavor and is very similar to crab cakes without the addition of a filler. It contains many of the same ingredients as a traditional crab cake recipe, but crab imperial is a richer version of the dish.
My first choice will always be American Blue Claw crabmeat, Jumbo Lump is the best crabmeat for this dish, but lump crabmeat is also acceptable! It has the sweetest taste and richest flavor of all the crabmeat available, well worth the splurge.
And fresh crabmeat, generally found in plastic containers is the best crabmeat. Pasteurized crab meat comes from Asian waters these days and doesn’t have the same flavor.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Maryland Style Crab Imperial
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo lump crabmeat or lump
- ½ cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise (Best foods or Dukes Mayo are also good)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon old bay
- 1 teaspoon Italian parsley finely chopped
- 1 large egg lightly beaten lightly beaten (for a richer version use two egg yolks)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- old bay sprinkle on top of the finished crab imperial before baking
Instructions
- Mix mayonnaise, egg, sugar, old bay, lemon juice and parsley together and blend well, this is your imperial sauce.
- Gently fold crabmeat into, imperial sauce, being careful not to break up crab meat.
- place portions in the baking dish of your choice, using ramekins or small casserole dishes
- Spinkle tops of crab imperial with old bay or paprika.
- Bake in 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes (top will turn golden brown) or until a thermometer gets an internal reading of 165 degrees
- Allow to cool just a few minutes before serving, it will set and be more flavorful as it cools slightly.
Mei-i@gastronomic nomad
Oh man that looks good! I have never had crab imperial, but this def makes me want it. Will have to serve some up for father’s day alongside some steak for some surf & turf. And a weekend in bed is NEVER wasted! Your body is obviously calling for some relief. 🙂
Swathi
Looks delicious, entire family of four including me, my little princess and my baby and hubby got sick and had really bad cold and fever. Resulting a bad weekend.
CJ at Food Stories
This dish looks amazing. Never made crab imperial before but now I’m wondering why … Looks so easy!
Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef
Sorry it was a crap weekend! I was pretty much out of commission last month for sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, itchy ears and throat. I saw the doc and got that once a day nasal spray and it fixed everything. It’s not cheap but I will never be without it.
This crab dish is beautiful! really really tempting.
Jeanette
Sounds like you got some rest, which was much needed, albeit not the way you hoped to spend the long weekend. We had a quiet weekend too – two of my sons got concussions over the past 4 days so that automatically sidelined our activities. However, my husband and I did attend our town Memorial Parade, which is such a wonderful tribute to our veterans. I am a Maryland girl, so I always love seeing your crab recipes. Still have to give your crab spaghetti recipe a whirl (I have a stash of crab in my fridge waiting to try that recipe).
Taflan
Hi Chef,
This is a new one for me. But definitely i’ll try next time when i find some crab meat. Looks fantastic and i’m sure tastes too. Thanks!
anna
what a beautiful, simple dish! can you believe i’ve never had this before? it looks like a great way to prepare crab. sorry your memorial day weekend wasn’t great…seems like a bummer for a lot of people this year. mine was pretty drab too. better luck next year!
Elin
I was a couch potato the weekend…watching dramas on tv and munching away. Nothing much done too…the weather was scorching hot here and staying in with the air con running the whole day was sheer luxury. Your meal looks absolutely delicious…we cant get jumbo crabmeat over here in the supermarket…lucky you 🙂 and I wish here that I live next door :p Thanks for sharing the imperial sauce with us. Perhaps I could use it on other seafood or on mud crabs that are plenty sold in the wet market…mmmm I think I would do that ! Thanks Chef and have a good day!
Marsha @ The Harried Cook
That looks SO delicious… I really love crab but don’t get to eat it too often because no one else in our home enjoys crab (can you believe it!?)… I really wish I could taste this gorgeous dish! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Ilan (IronWhisk Blog)
Oh, wow!
That looks amazing.
Foodtographer
Hi Chef…Sorry I have not been by in awhile. I had to take a break whch unfortunately I am still on. I saw this post and it reminded me of a time in my childhood that THIS dish was really grand. Crab was a special treat even with growing up in Philly. We use to go to Maryland and did quite a bit of “crabbin'” and “Clammin'”. I have forgotten about this dish and seeing this really brought back memories. I could really go for this now but being in the middle of the desert it is really hard to find good quality crab meat without having to takeout a mortgage…LOL…Hope all is well and sleep on my Friend…CHEERS!
Brian @ A Thought For Food
You’re right… we aren’t celebrating Memorial Day, though I think we all react to such times in our own way. I’m the kind of person who likes to party and BBQ in order to remember our loved ones (including my grandfather who served during WWII). The fact is, though, that we should still be reflecting on what’s happened.
But going back to food… this dish looks freakin’ amazing! I’d love a bite!
Laura @ Family Spice
I cleaned house and prepared for a big family dinner last night. I was so pooped today I could hardly keep my eyes opened. Jealous about your nap! I have never heard of Crab Imperial. Looks creamy and sounds perfect with some hearty bread.
Elaine Williams
Awesome! An old Baltimore favorite and so easy to make. I love making stuff in ramekins or boat shaped individual serving dishes I got YEARS ago in a Dollar Tree store in Golden Ring, Rosedale area of Baltimore County.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks Elaine! I hope you enjoy the recipe
Chris
Golden ring mall. Now that’s a blast from the past.
Heather @ Bake, Run, Live
I have never had crab before. However, I just made homemade mayo yesterday, so crab meat has been added to the grocery list!
Sometimes our bodies tell us that we need a break. Extra sleep isn’t a bad thing if it lets your body rest and recharge!
Hyosun Ro
I’m sorry to hear you weren’t feeling well this weekend. Hope you feel better soon! I love Maryland crabs, and it’s funny I was thinking about stopping by my favorite crab cake place in Maryland on our way down from NYC this afternoon. Although I make crab cakes, I’ve never made crab imperial, so thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. It looks and sounds delicious!
P. Filley
I was raised in Baltimore. My mother would crab imperial and used glass dishes shaped like crabs. I have never had them appraised, but were praobably bought at Hutzler’s. I have my mothers recipe, but was checking others out of curiosity. Sooo good
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m very happy to hear that I lived up to the memory of your Mothers recipe. Crab Imperial has always been a favorite of mine!
Keri
Been looking for the recipe like many yesrs ago st local Baltimore restaurants!! Thank you!!
So funny, I have the glass crab dishes too, passed down the damily tree here in Maryland!!!
I jyst dug them up out if my pantry and cannit wait to plop this recipe into yhem 🙂
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m glad you found my blog Keri and I hope you enjoy the crab imperial as much as we do!
Kathy Rose
Hi Chef Dennis, I am on Pinterest looking for some kind of Crab Dip with crackers or little toasts for a Christmas Party. This looks so delicious!!! Could you use this as a dip? Thank you and Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holiday Season. Kathy Rose
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Kathy
My Crab imperial recipe is not really going to be dip consistency but I do have a shrimp scampi dip that you could use. https://www.askchefdennis.com/shrimp-scampi-dip-around-the-kitchen-table-2/ Just swap out the shrimp and garlic for the crabmeat.
Happy Holidays!
Cindy Smithson
We always sauteed fine chopped bell peppers to add to our crab imperial
cindie
haha my mom and brother used to work at Huttzlers in Glen Burnie! Remember the kid’s holiday store?
April Ames-Chase
Hutzler’s is a definite blast from the past! I still remember Thom McCann shoe store! Wow!! I can’t wait to try this recipe here in San Antonio, Tx. Thank you Chef! April
Chef Dennis Littley
You are very welcome April. San Antonio is my old home town.
Donna Desjardins
Hutzlers! Made me homesick for Maryland! Making crab imperial from real Maryland crabs. Will be a good evening.