Crab Remoulade

By Andrew Zimmern

The secret to this classic Creole dish is in the sauce. Remoulade is a tangy mayonnaise-based sauce—flavored with mustard, horseradish, vinegar, chili sauce and scallions—that pairs beautifully with seafood. I’m making this recipe with crab, but you can use shrimp, lobster or crawfish—really, the sauce is good on anything.

Crab Remoulade

Ingredients

Remoulade

1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup Heinz chile sauce
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/4 cup dark brown mustard
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons Crystal brand hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 scallions
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium eggs
2 medium egg yolks
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Salad

1 head red Romaine lettuce
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lemon, cut in quarters, lengthwise
1/4 cup finely sliced scallions

Instructions

To make the remoulade, place all of the ingredients except oil in the work bowl of a food processor. With the machine running, slowly pour oil in a thin stream to emulsify. The sauce will not be thick like mayonnaise but will hold the emulsion nicely. Season and refrigerate for 6 hours before using. The leftover remoulade will keep for 3 days.

Arrange whole washed and well-dried lettuce leaves on cutting board and cut in julienne. Divide lettuce on 4 plates. Pile portions of crab on the lettuce, garnishing with the tomatoes and lemon. Spoon remoulade to taste over the crab, sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve. Reserve unused remoulade to fridge, it’s great on everything.