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Crabs a LA Richmond

A crab and clam sauce with brandy, egg yolk, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Crabs a LA Richmond

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Cook crab meat in 1 teaspoon bilttei and 2 tablespoons sherry wine for 2 minutes.

  2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan.

  3. Add 2 tablespoons flour and gradually pour in ⅓ cup milk and ⅓ cup clam broth.

  4. Stir in crab meat and the soft part of the clams.

Finish and serve

  1. Heat thoroughly, then season with salt and paprika.

  2. Just before serving, add 1 tablespoon brandy and the slightly beaten egg yolk.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Crab + meattop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together448 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  3. Crab + clamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  4. Crab + buttertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together812 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Butter + clamtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together840 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Crab meat
Provides the main seafood flavor and tender bulk of the dish.
Butter
Enriches the sauce and carries flavor during the initial melting.
Flour
Thickens the milk and clam broth into a smooth, cohesive sauce.
Milk
Adds creaminess and body to the sauce.
Clam broth
Adds savory clam flavor and liquid to the sauce.
Egg yolk
Enriches and gently thickens the sauce, adding richness and smoothness.

The step that matters

Adding the egg yolk just before serving. Egg yolk thickens through gentle heat and can curdle or scramble if it boils. Adding it last, off the heat or at low heat, keeps the sauce smooth and creamy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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