Crabby Grilled Cheese

December 9, 2019 by Nicole Collins

I miss summer already.

And, it’s not even winter yet.

I am SOOOO cold! And, I’m grumpy. And, I’m freezing. And, I just want to whine my way to May.

K? K…

In addition to missing warmth, I’m also missing crabs already. I’ve spent the past few months submerged in crabbies, but not in the way you’d think. I’ve been painting and selling crab shell ornaments and wreaths! With the amount of time I spent stuck in the house this summer due to some poor health, I needed something to do. So, my loved ones loaded me up with bags and bags of crab shells.

And let me tell you, scrubbing and cleaning crab shells that you didn’t get to eat stinks! Literally…

But, painting is good for the soul and I was able to make a few dollars, so it was totally worth it.

The good thing about living in the Chesapeake state is that we have access to fresh crab meat in our stores all year round. So thankfully, I can calm my cravings before we see 80 degree temps again. And heaven knows I certainly couldn’t wait that long.

So today, we’re having our crab in a super comforting, tummy warming way. Today, we’re making Crabby Grilled Cheese!

These sammies are HEAAAARTY. If you’re baby dinosaur hungry, this recipe feeds 2. But, if you’re the normal kind of hungry, you can get 4 servings out of these.

We start with a nice loaf of sourdough bread. I was able to get mine pre-sliced from Aldi. I took the slices from the center of the loaf so that I was able to get the biggest possible pieces. Maybe that’s why my sammie was abnormally large. But, we need the surface area so we can load up on all of our crabby filling.

To stuff our sammies, we need some fresh crab meat, a little softened cream cheese, a sprinkle of Old Bay, and lots of freshly shredded cheddar cheese. Pre-shredded cheese does not melt nearly as well as fresh thanks to shelf stabilizers added to the package, so shredding the cheese yourself from the block gives the sandwich a much better, meltier, cheesepull. And, what’s a grilled cheese without cheesepull?

Before we toast our sammies to get that classic golden grilled cheese crust, we’re going to make a quick Old Bay mayo to spread on the outside to use in place of traditional butter. This helps us add one more sneaky little layer of flavor to our sammie while totally increasing the crunch factor of the bread. Can I get an eyes rolling to the back of your head “mmmm”?!?!?!

And here’s a tip! It’s kind of awkward to make only half of a grilled cheese sandwich. So, you can make the whole sammie, refrigerate the uneaten half, and reheat it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 8-10 mins. The bread gets nice and crisp again this way, and the sandwich actually holds up really nicely.

Ok guys, we’re on the top side of December which means our annual 12 Days Of… challenge is coming soon. Any guesses what it’ll be this year?

Stay tuned, and let’s eat!

Crabby Grilled Cheese

Serves: 2 large or 4 small sandwiches Print

Ingredients:

4 slices sourdough bread
8 oz lump crab meat
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp Old Bay, plus more for dusting

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and ¼ tsp Old Bay. Mix, and set aside. In another bowl, combine crab meat and cream cheese. Use your hands to mix well until combined.
Take once piece of bread, and spread half of the crab mix over one side. Top with half of the shredded cheese. Top with another slice of bread. Spread about 1 tbsp mayonnaise mix crust to crust on each side of the outside of the sandwich. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Arrange sandwiches in the pan. Cook for 5-6 mins until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip, and cook for another 3-4 mins until the bottoms are golden brown. Remove from pan, dust with more Old Bay, if desired, and serve!

Recipe notes:

*You can make the Old Bay mayonnaise in advance, and prepare the sandwiches as you're ready to eat them.

*I prefer to use a block of cheddar that I've shredded myself as opposed to pre-bagged cheese in this recipe. Freshly shredded cheese melts much better.

*These make 2 REALLY big sammies. Half of a sandwich was more than enough for me, so I actually got 4 servings out of this.

*Use fresh crab meat whenever you can, and avoid the stuff that comes in a tin can. You can really taste the difference.