Crab - Maynard's Crab Au Gratin

MAYNARD'S CRAB AU GRATIN
Maynard Pittendreigh

This recipe came from a long out-of-print cookbook I picked up in Brunswick, Georgia, while I was pastor of a church there.  We lived a block from the marsh and I could leave crab traps there overnight.  I'd check these cages when I came home from work and there would always be enough crab meat to provide for this recipe.  We used to cook this two or three times a month.

Ingredients

1 pound of lump crab meat

3 Tablespoon. butter
3 Tablespoon flour
2 cups of milk (heated)
3/4 cups of cheddar cheese, grated and divided
1/4 cups of breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

 

Cooking Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Melt butter in casserole dish on medium heat.
• Add flour, stirring well—do not let brown.
• Stir in hot milk and continue stirring until it begins to boil, then turn heat to simmer.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add 1/2 cup cheese and let melt.
• Add crab meat and toss gently, careful not to break the lumps of crab.
• Add the remaining cheese, mixed with the breadcrumbs.
• Bake in a 400° oven, until the top begins to brown.  It will not take long.