Mom’s Crab Salad Sandwich and Dorie’s Redemption Fries

We have a special treat for you!
Long before she became one of the world’s most beloved cookbook writers, Dorie almost burned down her family home as a teenager while trying to make French fries. Yikes!!!

Below is a cherished recipe from her mom, the Crab Salad Sandwich and also her recipe for those infamous fries she calls “Redemption Fries”.

Dorie and her recipes are so beloved please consider following along with her at Substack!

Ingredients

• MOM’S CRAB SALAD SANDWICH (Makes 2 sandwiches)

  About 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, and more for the bread

  2 slices red onion, chopped

  1 celery stalk, chopped

  A few slivers of chile pepper, chopped

  Lemon juice, to taste

  Hot sauce, to taste

  Lawry’s Seasoning Salt or Old Bay Seasoning, to taste

  Kosher salt, to taste

  6 ounces crabmeat

  1 hard-boiled egg, chunked

  Lettuce and tomato

  Sandwich bread
  

• REDEMPTION FRIES

  Potatoes, I used Russets

  Fresh oil, for frying

  Salt

  Pepper, if you’d like

  Ketchup, mayo, mustard, hot sauce and/or anything else that makes you happy

MOM'S CRAB SALAD SANDWICH

This is less a recipe than a list of possibilities built on unreliable memories.

I remember that my mom made crab salad sandwiches standing at the kitchen counter. The memory that returns most often is of her in the kitchen in our Long Island house, where we lived for just three years. She’s at the window and I can see her opening the can of crab – the crab always came in a can (which may have had a dragon on it) – but that’s as far as I can get. After that, we’re eating it together outside, on the back steps. There had to have been mayonnaise in the salad and I’m thinking there was lemon juice squeezed from a plastic lemon, but I’m just not sure about the rest.

I can’t even remember what kind of bread the sandwich was on. We always had bakery rye bread, my father’s favorite bread (he even ate it with dessert!), but I’m guessing that the sandwich was on store-bought white or maybe a packaged dinner roll. I’m going with white bread. There was always red onion in the house, so I think my mother might have added some (although the idea of my mother chopping an onion with her beautifully polished red nails is a an odd one). Celery is a possibility – more for me than for her. And since Lawry’s Seasoning Salt was above the stove at all times, maybe mom added a few shakes of it.

When I make the sandwich, I add Old Bay’s. Also some hot sauce and chopped chile pepper, which I think my mother would have liked because she loved a little spice. The slab of tomato seems authentic. So does the lettuce. While I’ve usually got butter or romaine lettuce in the crisper, iceberg was the house lettuce of my childhood – it’s still a good lettuce for adding crunch to a soft sandwich.

I think we had Wise Potato Chips on the side. That would have been very mom.

Step 1

Mix the mayonnaise with the onion, celery and chile pepper. Add a little lemon juice, hot sauce, Lawry’s or Old Bay and a pinch of kosher salt – taste and see if you’d like more of anything. Add the crabmeat and egg and toss gently. Taste again, season again, if needed, then build the sandwiches, spreading a little mayo on each slice of bread, laying down lettuce, tomato and then the salad.

To be like Mom, grab some potato chips and eat the sandwich outdoors.

DORIE'S REDEMPTION FRIES

It’s impossible to know what childhood moment will mark you. When the pot of oil meant for French fries caught fire and burned my parents’ just-renovated kitchen, my 12-year old self couldn’t have imagined that the mishap would follow me all through life. Since no one was hurt and the wreck of the kitchen gave my mother a respite from the chores she liked least – anything having to do with cooking – it could easily have been forgotten and probably would have been, had I not became a food writer. When my first cookbook was published in 1991, my brother asked why I hadn’t mentioned the fire! “Who’d trust me, if they knew,” I thought. So many years later, the story shows me how forgiving my mother was – she was distraught, for sure, but she never blamed me: I’m guessing she chalked it up to foolish youth. What the incident didn’t do was encourage me to get back into the kitchen. I hadn’t cooked before the flare up and I didn’t cook after it until I got married seven years later, and then I cooked like mad and loved it. I cooked and baked everything, from coulbiac, the fussiest salmon dish in my meager cookbook collection (I loved the sound of the name), to my mother-in-law’s homey stuffed cabbage. The one thing I never cooked was French fries. That I’m making them now is a milestone. The recipe is simple and straightforward, but I was anxious as I put the oil up to heat. Never mind that I’ve fried many things since the fire, making French fries felt different – a little like an exorcism and a lot like an act of redemption. Also, it was fun. And yes, I’m sorry I didn’t pluck up my courage sooner.

Step 1

Peel the potatoes and cut them into “fries” that are about 1/4 inch thick. Drop them into a bowl of cold water – make sure they’re submerged – and soak them for 30 minutes or put them in the fridge and leave for as long as overnight.

Step 2

Line a baking sheet with a kitchen towel or some paper towels, drain the potatoes and arrange them in a single layer on the sheet. Cover with another towel (or more paper towels), pat to get rid of as much water as you can, then let them air-dry while you get the fry-gear going.

Step 3

You’ll need a place to put the fries when they’re cooked, so be ready to line the baking sheet with fresh towels.

Step 4

Put a large Dutch oven over medium heat, pour in 2 to 3 inches of oil and heat the oil to 350 degrees F – use a thermometer to get this right. If you’ve got a deep-fryer, just follow the manufacturer’s directions and press the right buttons.

Step 5

Working in batches – you don’t want to crowd the potatoes – drop the fries into the oil and cook for about 5 minutes, occasionally moving them around so that they don’t stick together, or until they’re pretty much cooked through. Take one out and test it with the tip of a knife or break it in half. They may have taken on a little color, but you don’t want too much. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the fries to the baking sheet to drain. Continue with the rest of the batch.

Step 6

When you’ve completed the first fry, reheat the oil to 375 to 400 degrees F. Again, working in batches, cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until they’re the color you like. Color is the key here. Drain, sprinkle with salt (and pepper) and continue until all the potatoes are fried.

Step 7

Serve hot with nothing or everything.

#MichelesKitchenNotes A few notes to consider as you try Dorie’s recipe in your kitchen.

- You can use canned crab meat, but if you really want to elevate the taste and texture— try to get a small plastic container of fresh crab meat from your fish market. Lump crab is expensive but whew Lord—it is so amazing the sweetness of the fresh crab is hard to beat.

- Duke’s or Hellman’s mayo are favorites in our house but recently, my daughter Aja has been making crab or lobster salad with Kewpie Japanese mayo with winning results.

- I like a layer of butter lettuce, or crunchy romaine in between the bread and the crab salad. It helps keep the bread from getting soggy and keeps the sandwich from falling apart.

- I married a wonderful man from Baltimore and those Maryland folks take their crab VERY seriously (case in point - the recommendation for lump crab meat). In Baltimore, crab salad or soft shell crab sandwiches are traditionally served on soft white bread. So, this may sound blasphemous but …. experimenting with different kinds of bread can really deepen the flavor. The sharp bite of pumpernickel bread plays nicely against the sweetness of the crab. And if you are serving these for a group, a tray of mini sandwiches on those cute little Hawaiian rolls will be a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Since Hawaiian rolls are also on the sweet side, you might want to up the chili flakes in the recipe or hit the crab salad with a bigger sprinkling of heat from a seasoning like Old Bay. I’d also suggest a few options from The Spice House such as Milwaukee Avenue or Louisiana Creole Blend that add depth without five-alarm heat.

Enjoy with some salty potato chips or even better — some crisp French Fries using Dorie’s tried and true recipe featured here on the website.

I love a good crab sandwich so I was eager to try this recipe and every time I have a crab sandwich I will forever think of Dorie and her glamorous mother sitting on the steps in back of their house.