Cream of Crab and Bacon Soup

In the top menu bar of this website you will see a tab that says “Ask Rex”.  This is the section of the website where you can ask me to recreate a recipe, come up with a recipe or add bacon to your favorite recipe.  One of my readers, Ashley, asked me for my take on a traditional Maryland dish, Cream of Crab Soup.  She specifically asked if I could find a way to incorporate bacon.  Well this is right up my alley.  I have been experimenting with a few variations and came up with perfect Cream of Crab and Bacon Soup.

Cream of Crab and Bacon Soup

Sort through the crab meat to make sure that you don’t have shell.  Sometimes there is a little shell in the meat.  Trust me, you want to find it now and not when you are sitting down to eat.  I used lump crab as the stores near me were cleared out of jumbo lump due to the holidays.

Slice 1/2 pound of smokey bacon and cook it in a heavy duty pot until crispy.

Once cooked remove and set aside.  Then add the chopped onions and celery to the remaining bacon drippings.  Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Once the onions are cooked, add the flour to the bacon drippings, celery and onion to create a roux.  Cook until you get a medium brown roux.  Think of a color a little darker than a dark khaki.

Then add the heavy cream and spices.  Bring to a simmer and allow the cream to thicken.  Once the cream thickens, add the sherry.

Finally add the lump crab meat and bacon.  Taste and season with salt if needed.  Bacon can be very salty so wait to add salt till the end.

Lightly stir so that the meat does not break up.  Simmer for 5 mins to heat the crab meat and serve.

Rex

Cream of Crab and Bacon Soup

A creamy crab soup with hints of bacon. Super delicious!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 bowls

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 pound Jumbo Lump or Lump Crab
• 1 stalk celery diced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 2 quarts heavy whipping cream
• 3 tbs flour
• 1 tbs sherry
• 1 tbs fresh parsley
• 3 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste

Method

 

1. Slice 1/2 pound of smokey bacon and cook it in a heavy duty pot until crispy.
2. Once cooked remove and set aside. Then add the chopped onions and celery. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
3. Once the onions are cooked, add the flour to create a roux. Cook until you get a medium brown roux.
4. Then add the heavy cream and spices. Bring to a simmer and allow the cream to thicken. Once the cream thickens, add the sherry.
5. Finally add the lump crab meat and bacon. Taste and season with salt if needed. Bacon can be very salty so wait to add salt till the end.
6. Lightly stir so that the meat does not break up. Simmer for 5 mins to heat the crab meat and serve.

This soup was delicious.  The crispy bacon bits added a nice texture.  Plus using the bacon drippings for the fat in the roux made the entire soup have a nice bacony goodness that enhanced every single bite.  Thanks for the question Ashley!  My wife said this recipe is a keeper and is going into our rotation.

Remember if you have a favorite food that you want a recipe for or just a way to incorporate bacon into your food click the Ask Rex link in the menu bar above.  I am more than happy to develop a recipe for you.

-Rex