Maryland Corn Jalapeno Crab Imperial

Maryland crab - there's nothing like it! It's my absolute favorite food of all time so when I'm in Maryland it's a non-stop crabfeast...and when I return home I bring all the crab I can. Well, all the crab I can afford to bring home anyway.

One of the best restaurant finds in Ocean City, MD is a brand new place called Hooked. Oh, they got the name right alright because Mieke and I were hooked the very first meal we shared there. 

Creamy, sweet, spicy and crabby...Corn Jalapeno Crab Bisque at Hooked in Ocean City, MD

Crab Corn Jalapeno Bisque was on the menu - it's the signature soup at Hooked. Dare I hope it would be gluten-free? Cautiously I inquired. Hallelujah, it definitely was GF!

The delightful Smokey Mater - LOVED the pickled cherry tomatoes, too!

I ordered a bowl on the spot...and a specialty martini called a Smokey Mater (Illegal Mezcal, local heirloom tomato nectar and pickled cherry tomatoes...YUM!) Soup and a fresh take on a Bloody Mary. Really, what more does a girl need for lunch? Not a thing.

The bisque was so good, I wondered how that might translate into one of my all time favorite crab dishes...Crab Imperial. The answer to that? Spectacularly!

 

 Maryland Corn Jalapeno Crab Imperial

• 3/4 pound REAL Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana or Texas Blue crab meat, backfin lump, picked for shell and cartiledge
• 1 tablespoon jalapeno chile pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons jarred pimientos, minced (I used hot peppadews instead - great if you can find them!)
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise - Hellman's
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh corn kernels, raw, cut from cob, coarsely chopped - Bonus! I was lucky enough to bring home Maryland Silver Queen corn!
• 3 tablespoons fresh corn puree (See below)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons fresh corn puree (See below)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Corn puree: Cut kernels from an ear of raw corn and place into the jar of a blender. Process until the corn is liquified. This will take a little patience and a lot of stopping the blender and pushing the corn kernels down before starting again. Repeat until the corn is liquified. This makes a very thick liquid with LOTS of intense fresh corn flavor.
 
Crab Mixture: Mix the jalapeno, pimiento, mayo, egg yolk pureed corn, salt and lemon juice until smooth. Set aside. Gently go through the crab feeling for shell and/or cartiledge and remove, but DON'T break up the crab! Put the crab into a large bowl, pour the mayo/egg mixture over the crab and very gently fold together without breaking up the crab. Set aside.
 
Glaze: Mix 2 T mayo, 4 T. pureed corn, 1 T. lemon juice and 1/4 t. salt together very well. Set aside.

Just before going into the oven.

 
Assembly: Using individual ramekins or shells, spray with a little olive oil then divide and mound the crab mixture evenly among 4 ramekins or shells. Tamp lightly to hold the mound together. Spoon the glaze mixture evenly over the tops, using all the glaze. If you wish (and I did) decorate the tops with strips of pimiento or peppadews. Place the ramekins or shells on a baking sheet.
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the ramekins or shells for 20 minutes. Remove, set the oven to broil, when the broiler is heated, run the crab under the broiler until lightly browned. Remove, cool slightly and enjoy!
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