Crispy Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab Salad and Hot Butter Sauce
Fried Green Tomatoes, crab salad, hot butter sauce. Enough said.
Serves4
Prep15 minutes
Cook5 minutes
While in Savannah last winter, we ate at Sorry Charlie’s Oyster Bar, a highly rated restaurant in the heart of the city. Being that we were firmly rooted in the tomato off-season, I was surprised to see fried green tomatoes on the menu. But as New Yorkers in the South, we felt an obligation to try it. Plus, the menu description sold me: “Fried Green Tomatoes, crab salad, hot butter sauce”— how could that not be good?
Our table devoured it, making sure to get a little crab salad with every bite and sopping up all the hot butter sauce. One serving was simply not enough, so we ordered another round. (That’s how you know I really like something.)
The dish stuck with me so much that when New York’s green tomato season came around, it was the number-one priority on my list to eat. Because I live about 800 miles from Savannah, I realized if I was ever going to eat this dish again I would have to take matters into my own hands. Thus, this copycat version recipe was born.
How to Make My Copycat Fried Green Tomato Stack
This recipe starts with our fried green tomatoes recipe, developed by our resident Southern girl, Patty Catalano. Why mess with a good thing? Next you’ll make a little crab salad, with celery for crunch and lemon for brightness. To recreate the hot butter sauce, combine a little melted butter with Tabasco for a rich and vinegary punch to round it all out.
While this is not the exact recipe, it certainly hits the notes that I remember the most. It is a perfect side dish for al-fresco eating, to usher out the end of summer and welcome the first days of autumn.
Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab Salad Recipe
Fried Green Tomatoes, crab salad, hot butter sauce. Enough said.
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 5 minutes
Serves4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the crab salad and tomatoes:
- 8 ounces
lump crab meat
- 1/2
small shallot
- 1 medium stalk
celery
- 1/4
medium red bell pepper
- 1
medium lemon
- 5 sprigs
fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons
mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon
whole grain mustard
- 1 recipe
For the hot butter sauce:
- 3 tablespoons
unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon
Tabasco hot sauce
Instructions
Make the crab salad and tomatoes:
Prepare the following, adding each to the same medium bowl as you complete it: Pick over 8 ounces lump crab meat for any shells. Peel and mince 1/2 small shallot until you have 3 tablespoons. Very finely chop 1 medium stalk celery (about 1/3 cup). Trim and very finely chop 1/4 medium red bell pepper until you have 1/4 cup.
Finely grate the zest of 1 medium lemon until you have 1 teaspoon. Halve the zested lemon and juice one half until you have 1 tablespoon. Add the zest and juice to the crab. Cut the remaining lemon lemon into wedges for serving.
Pick the leaves from 5 fresh parsley sprigs and coarsely chop until you have 4 tablespoons. Place 3 tablespoons in the bowl with crab and reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish.
Add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard to the bowl of crab. Stir until evenly combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 30 minutes.
Make the hot butter sauce:
Heat 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon Tabasco hot sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted; whisk to combine. (Alternatively, melt the butter in the microwave and whisk in the Tabasco.) Cover and keep warm while you prepare the tomatoes.
Prepare the fried green tomatoes (skip making the remoulade sauce). Transfer to a serving platter in a single layer and drizzle with the butter sauce. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about 1 tablespoon of the crab salad onto each tomato slice, leaving any excess liquid in the bowl. Garnish with the parsley and serve with the lemon wedges.
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