Author Notes: These crispy morsels are so delicious you will find yourself unable to stop eating them. If you serve them for a party, plan on hiring someone just to fry them, or you’ll be stuck behind the stove. Your guests will keep asking for more! Aïoli makes the perfect dipping sauce. (You want it to be a bit loose.) – ChefJune —ChefJune
Food52 Review: These are the bounciest beignets you’ll ever taste, partnered with a punchy aioli. ChefJune sticks to her convictions, using all olive oil and lots of egg yolk and garlic to great effect here, against fritters studded with sweet crab. We loved her use of vinegar-softened breadcrumbs in the aioli — a traditional Provençal technique which bolsters and thickens the sauce, threading a subtle vinegary aroma through without compromising the aioli’s smooth, buttery texture. – A&M —The Editors
Serves: 4-6 servings (about 28 beignets)
Ingredients
Crab Beignets
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8
ounces cooked lump crab meat
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1
cup organic unbleached flour
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1
teaspoon baking powder (I only use Rumfords)
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1
teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
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1
pimiento, chopped
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3
scallions, finely chopped
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4
drops Cholula Hot Sauce
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Vegetable oil for frying (canola or peanut work well)
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Lemon wedges, for serving
Aïoli
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1
tablespoon fine, dry, unflavored breadcrumbs
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1
tablespoon white wine vinegar
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6
garlic cloves, finely chopped
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3
large egg yolks
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1/2
teaspoon fine sea salt
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1/8
teaspoon white pepper
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1
cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Crab Beignets
- Pick over the crab meat to remove any traces of shell. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except the oil and lemon wedges with 1 cup of water. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Heat a couple of inches of oil in a deep heavy pot to 325 degrees F. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the oil and fry until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Be sure not to crowd the beignets in the hot oil, or they won’t fry evenly. Drain and serve hot with a lemon wedge and the aioli.
- Teacher’s Tip: It’s important to have your oil at the right temperature. Too hot, and your beignets will burn – too cold, and the beignets will absorb the oil and become greasy and unpleasant.
- Wine Tip: A sparkling wine would be just right with these crispy morsels, or a well chilled Alsatian Riesling.
Aïoli
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the vinegar for 5 minutes, then squeeze the crumbs dry in the corner of a towel.
- In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, chop the garlic, then add the crumbs and combine with the garlic to make a smooth paste. Add egg yolks, salt and white pepper and combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Now, with the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. When all the oil is in, you have aïoli.
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Breadcrumbs (we used panko), egg yolk, pimiento, white pepper, garlic, olive oil, scallions, lump crabmeat, baking powder, and flour.
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Batter-to-be.
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Use the freshest lump crabmeat you can find (although frozen would work too).
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It should come together and look like pancake batter.
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¡Ole! Amanda plays matador, then follows directions and covers the batter with a damp towel to rest for 30 minutes.
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ChefJune pulls a trick from the Provençal playbook, softening her breadcrumbs for the aioli with white wine vinegar.
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Lots of egg yolk and garlic in here — this cook isn't messing around.
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Right this way, soggy breadcrumbs.
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Save those whites for meringues, tomorrow's pancake batter, egg washes for pie crusts, a face mask … whathaveyou.
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3's a crowd.
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We're fine with letting the food processor do the work, but feel free to use a mortar and pestle or whisk to emulsify the aioli.
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Hello in there — are you aioli yet?
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Yes!
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A vital garnish waits in its holster.
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Sliding spoonfuls of batter into the 325 degree oil (we used canola).
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Bubble, bubble. Don't crowd the pot or the oil will get too cool to fry properly.
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It's oddly thrilling to watch these little guys puff in the hot oil.
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Beignets, you best behave.
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A model beignet.
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Give them a brief drain and cool-down on paper towels. These buggers are hot!
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Spritz, dip, repeat.
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