Joe Martin was both a hero and a mentor to me. He was an old-fashioned New
Orleans kitchen guy who never had national fame as a chef, but he could cook
better than a lot of household names. Not only that, he was a great teacher,
developing an army of everyday workers who were the backbone of good food
served all over town. The funny thing is, for all the people he taught, he
never wrote down his best dishes. He used to make this one hunched over like
it was a big secret. I pieced the recipe together from some of the guys he
taught. Joe, if you’re looking down on this dish from someplace where the
work isn’t so hard, I hope you don’t think we’re leaving something out!

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound crabmeat, picked clean of any shell fragments
  • 2 tablespoons creole mustard
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
  • topping
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

  • DIRECTIONS

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


    Gently toss the crabmeat with the mustard and green onions in a bowl, being
    careful not to break up the crabmeat. Divide the mixture between 4 ramekins.
    Using an electric mixer, whip together the topping ingredients in a mixing
    bowl and spread the topping on the crabmeat mixture. Bake in the oven until
    thoroughly heated and the sauce is golden brown and bubbly, about 8 minutes.
    Serve hot.