Dungeness Crab Soufflé
September 16th, 2020Airy, Savory and Perfect Any Time of Day
A beloved French classic, soufflé is an elegant meal to make any day of the week, despite what you think you know about soufflé.
Made with eggs, flour, milk, and your choice of filling, a soufflé is ultimately a very simple and, in fact, quite easy dish to make — it just takes a bit of time. Mild in flavor and silky in texture, a soufflé is the perfect setting for wild-caught seafood and a handful of fresh herbs.
Note: You'll need a 1 1/2 or 2-quart soufflé dish to make this recipe.
Dungeness Crab Soufflé
By Wild Alaskan Company
Prep time
60 minutes
Cook Time
60 minutes
Total time
120 minutes
Yield
4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (32 oz.) pack Snap and Eat Dungeness Crab, picked, or 2 (6 oz.) packs Dungeness Crab Meat, divided
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided, plus more for pan
- 3 Tbsp. plain fine breadcrumbs
- 4 tbsp white flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup softened cream cheese, mascarpone, or creme fraiche
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 6 egg whites
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus more wedges for serving
- Thinly sliced chives, for serving
Instructions
1. Fill a wide pot or pan with about ¼ inch of water and add lemon slices. Cover with lid and bring to a simmer over medium heat until steaming. Then, add crab and cover with a lid. Continue to steam over medium heat for 5 minutes if using defrosted crab; 10 minutes if using frozen crab. Let cool slightly, remove crab meat from shells and set aside. You should have about 2 cups.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, preferably set to convection. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 2 qt souffle dish with softened butter, using upward brush strokes. Dust with breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess and making sure all of the butter is covered. Set aside until ready to use.
3. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and cook until the mixture is bubbling and just starting to smell nutty, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add in the milk, a few splashes at a time to get a thick yet pourable mixture. Remove from heat.
4. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl until combined. Slowly pour in ½ cup hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while constantly whisking, avoiding curdling them. Then whisk the warm, tempered egg yolks back into the milk mixture. Mix in crabmeat, cream cheese, dijon mustard and season with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and pepper.
5. Whisk egg whites in a large bowl on medium high until firm peaks form, about 8 minutes. Make sure no egg yolk is present on the bowl of the egg whites as this will prevent the whites from setting.
6. Whisk in a third of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until smooth. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.
7. Place baking dish into an 8x8 pan. Pour enough boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the souffle dish. Carefully transfer into the oven and bake until browned, puffy and fully set, about 35 minutes.
8. 5 minutes before the souffle comes out of the oven, melt remaining butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add remaining crab, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and cook until just heated through.
9. Serve immediately with more black pepper, finely chopped chives and a lemon wedge.
Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have a certain medical condition. The FDA recommends an internal temperature of 145°F for cooked fish.
