Crab Puffs
I wanted to call these “crabbity crabbity puff puffs,” but that is largely due to the amount of cold medicine currently in my system. So you might want to just ignore all of the text in this post and head straight to the recipe. It’s a good one. No grains or fillers, just crabbity-crabbity goodness going on.
These are puffed up with beaten eggs whites, and they make a great appetizer (served hot or at room temperature), or a great special-occasion breakfast. I like them with a little remoulade sauce on the side. They will deflate a bit as they cool, but the texture remains really light and puffy.
To get the best volume from your egg whites it helps to have them at room temperature. I got sixteen puffs from this batch, but that is going to vary depending on the volume you get from the egg whites, as well as the precision with which you fill your muffin tins. You can also make mini versions using mini muffin tins, but decrease the baking time to about 12 minutes.
These are highly dependent upon the quality of the crab meat, so I do not recommend using canned. The pasteurized crab that you can find in the refrigerated section works well.
Crab Puffs
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh chives
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound lump crab meat
- butter or olive oil, to coat the muffin tins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a muffin tin, plus 4-5 cups of a second tin, with butter or olive oil.
- Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Beat until they form stiff peaks.
- Place the egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk them together with the salt, white pepper, chives, mustard, and olive oil. Gently fold the crab into the egg yolk mixture.
- Fold one-third of the eggs whites into the crab mixture to loosen it up, then fold in the rest of the egg whites. Do not over fold, as you want to keep lots of volume. Some white streaks can still remain. Use a third-cup measure to scoop the mixture into the prepared tins. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they are puffy and lightly browned on the tops. Serve hot or at room temperature.
