Taking inspiration from the Chesapeake Bay, the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States where crabs are abundant and used in just about every way (even in seasoning on potato chips!), our hot crab dip is full of generous lumps of crab meat, creamy mayonnaise and herbs.

Picking crabs at a picnic table under the summer sun with beers on hand and nowhere to be makes for a lovely afternoon, but picking is a lot of work for a dip. Thankfully, this recipe doesn’t demand all that work. 

Sometimes called Maryland crab dip, this indulgent and addictive appetiser is super easy to put together — especially if you buy the best canned lump crab meat you can find. It’s a little more expensive, but worth it if you plan to make  this recipe on special occasions. If you don’t want to spend as much, canned backfin, special and claw meat are less expensive and very tasty. For larger batches, consider a one-to-one ratio of lump crab meat to one of these alternatives. 

As simple as this recipe is, there are two things to keep in mind. Firstly, do combine the rest of the ingredients before adding the crab to avoid overmixing. When you’ve splurged on high-quality lump crab meat, you want to avoid breaking it into tiny pieces! Keep those lumps around by gently folding together the mayo, herbs and crab. They’re what make the dip delicious. The second thing? It’s worth gently picking through the crab meat to look for any stray shells.

Some spicy flair really does add another deliciously fun dimension to this dip. For that, we use just a few dashes of Cayenne pepper and Tabasco (we really do prefer its vinegar-based simplicity over other hot sauces here), but if you prefer a spicier dip, don’t be afraid to amp up the heat. 

This recipe is featured in This New Year's Eve, Forget the Knife and Fork and serves as the base for our Hot Crab Dip Pizza.