A coastal restaurant staple, rich and elegant She-Crab Soup can be easily made at home.
She-Crab Soup is commonly found on menus in coastal Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The origin is disputed, but wherever it came from, it is much-appreciated here in the South.
The first time I ever had this soup was in Savannah, Georgia, when visiting friends. We were downtown exploring when we found a restaurant right on the river. They were known for their She-Crab Soup so I had to try it. The creamy, bisque-like texture and tasty bits of crab was dreamy and delicious.
The name She-Crab Soup implies that all the meat in the soup is from female crabs; however, that is not necessarily the case, at least not in my recipe. You can find many variations of this recipe, but in many original versions the crabs carrying roe (eggs) were used, which were obviously females. The roe is said to add more flavor so that less salt is needed.
For my recipe, I did not use only females carrying eggs — instead, I purchased already-picked crab meat and I incorporated salt into the soup. Feel free to purchase female crabs from your local fish market to incorporate crab roe. However, to me, roe is a bit too fishy, and I don’t want the extra work of cleaning crabs.
By the way, do you know how to tell if a blue crab is male or female? The females will have red tips on their claws, as if they had their nails painted red. You can also flip the crabs over and look at their apron (belly) — females will have a larger rounded apron indention while the males have a long, pointy apron indention.
This is a very elegant and delicate recipe. You can serve it as a main course or as an appetizer. Either way, it’s a great way to make your guests feel special.
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| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings | servings |
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 dash Old Bay seasoning
- 1 pound cooked lump crabmeat
- 1/4 cup sherry wine
- oyster crackers
- 1 bunch parsley for garnish
Ingredients
|
- You will need an immersion blender or food processor.
- In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery and thyme and cook until the onions and celery are soft.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, whisk in the flour and continue to cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the Old Bay, nutmeg, black pepper and paprika. Once the spices become aromatic, add the sherry and increase the heat to medium, bringing it to a simmering boil. Cook about 10 minutes, constantly stirring.
- Add the half and half and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the thyme spring. Puree the soup with an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor) and blend until smooth
- Stir in the lemon juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire and season with salt. Gently stir in the crab meat and serve hot with oyster crackers. Garnish with parsley.
Photography by James Stefiuk
