When you’re thinking of ordering Crabmeat Maison at Galatoire’s your first question should always be, “How’s the crab today?” This is code for determining the presence of shell fragments and sweetness. It should be free of the first and brimming with the second.
Once you’ve been given the thumbs up by your waiter you’ll want it as a starter. It’s usually served on a bed of lettuce in an avocado with a halved tomato on the side.
The Prep
At Maison Clary I serve the dish as a high rise (with no permits needed from the city). It makes for a nice presentation and it’s great for lazy people because it’s already cut up and ready to go down the hatch.
You just need a metal ring mold like the one below (and trust me, it’s the sine qua non of food porn paraphernalia). Tall food’s where it’s at so I’m working on perfecting the art of the culinary capstone. Perhaps balancing some impossibly long chive spears in a future posting, maybe even a bride & groom topper at some indeterminate point in the future. We’ll see.
But in the meantime, you, the reader, need to grease the inside and start building. Diced avocado with a squirt of citrus, topped with seeded diced tomato, topped with the crabmeat then garnished with sprouts as I did here or with frisée or even chopped lettuce.
The plates should be made pretty close to the time you serve. And pay attention to the amount of remoulade you mix into the crab. It should be just enough to bind. If you add too much the crab chunks will fall off the side like old plaster off of a building. To be safe you can put the dressed crab in the fridge or even freezer for five to firm it up before adding it to the pile.
I’ve seen other ingredients used in the stack, like quinoa and couscous in place of the avocado but I go with the traditional mix only altering the presentation so that it looks both professional and appetizing. One possible variation would be to replace half the crab with small, barely steamed rock shrimp.
If you build your Crabmeat Maison tower high enough it can – with the addition of lots of warm French bread – be a light meal so go get your ingredients and start stacking.
And for you fans of Galatoire’s check out my version of Chicken Clemenceau which will serve as a hearty chaser to the light Crabmeat Maison.
- For the salad:
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 medium avocados
- 2 medium sized tomatoes (any color)
- 1 cup sunflower sprouts (or frisee)
- For the remoulade:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon white part of green onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons pickles, chopped
- 2 tablespoons creole brown mustard
- 1 fat pinch of cayenne pepper
- For the salad:
- Check the crabmeat for shells & separate lumps carefully.
- Zest lemon on a fine rasp and set aside. Juice lemon and set aside.
- Dice the avocado and sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Seed tomatoes and cut into dice.
- Once the remoulade is made add it slowly to the crab being careful not to break up the lumps too much. And only add enough to bind the crab.
- For the remoulade:
- Puree all the ingredients in a blender.
- Save some additional capers for garnish if you like them whole.
- For the assembly:
- Place the mold on a salad plate & layer one quarter of each of the ingredients starting with the avocado, then the tomato, then the crabmeat. Slowly lift up the mold to remove it, then add the sprouts to the top. Dust with lemon zest if desired.
Great site, really good writing:-)! I really enjoy your blog. I’m waiting for more. Best regards!
Thanks Thomas! Hoping to do more recipes with crab – only wish it were a little cheaper.
thank you for posting http://www.nappedetable.org/
Galatoire’s has changed their recipe quite a bit since I last ate there (in the late 80’s). No mayo or avocado back then. Modernized with the avocado and enriched with remoulade. You’re recipe is lovely. I might season the tomato and avocado a little myself.
Thanks for your kind words and glad you enjoyed it. I sort of grew up eating at Galatoire’s and Crabmeat Maison was a favorite that I reworked a little here. Also, have my version of their Chicken Clemenceau.