MAYNARD'S SHE CRAB SOUP

Maynard Pittendreigh

According to Maynard, there is only one soup worth eating. It is She Crab Soup, so called because of the unique taste the roe gives to the soup (to get that taste, and since Maynard could never figure out how to tell a He Crab from a She Crab, chicken egg yolks can be used). She Crab Soup apparently originated in Charleston, SC. Maynard has several other She Crab recipes, but they pale to comparison to this. He also has one He Crab recipe, but to be honest, it is pretty disgusting. This particular recipe comes as a result of a bribe given to a waiter at the Clipper Ship Restaurant near Myrtle Beach, SC, which served the best She Crab soup Maynard has ever tasted.

·       2 cups of white meat from blue crabs

·       1/8 tsp of mace

·       A pinch of nutmeg

·       1 tablespoon of butter (how could we have a South Carolina recipe without butter?

·       1 egg

·       1/4 cup of plain breadcrumbs (no seasoning)

·       1 cup milk

·       1 cup half and half cream

·       2 tsp sherry

·       salt, paprika and pepper.

1. Boil egg, then take the yolk and chop in fine pieces.

2. Mix chopped egg yolk, crab meat, mace, half and half cream, and milk and cook on very low heat for 15 minutes.

3. Add cracker crumbs, sherry, salt and pepper.

4. Keep on very low heat for 5 minutes and refrigerate.  DO NOT eat until the next day. 

5. When serving, reheat, put into bowls, add a sprinkle of paprika and some sherry after serving in bowls.