Eastern Shore Seafood Salad

The boil. Year eight of the blog, year twenty-something of the tradition. Two hundred and eighty people. New record. The parking lot, the yard, the live oaks, the pots, the shrimp, the everything.

Amara was at the pot again. She is four and a half and she remembers last year — "THE C, GAH-GAH!" — and this year she was ready. Devon held her up and I said, "Watch the shrimp, Amara." She watched with the focus of a surgeon. When the first shrimp curled, she pointed and screamed, "C!!! IT'S A C!!!" Two hundred and eighty people heard a four-year-old announce the doneness of the shrimp, and I swear, baby, if I die tomorrow, that sound — her voice, the joy, the recognition — that's the last sound I want ringing in my ears.

Thomas brought his cobbler. For the cobbler table. His cobbler, with the nutmeg, his wife's ghost in every bite. He set it down next to mine and Gladys's and he said, "Is this okay?" I said, "Thomas, your cobbler earned its place the day you added the nutmeg." He stood a little taller. A man who cooks a cobbler for two hundred and eighty people is a man who has found his community. The boil healed him. I told you it would.

Mrs. Crawford sat under the live oak for the second year. She ate her shrimp slowly, one at a time, savoring each one. She said, "Dorothy, I'm eighty-eight years old and this is the best shrimp I've ever eaten." I said, "Mrs. Crawford, you said that last year." She said, "The shrimp got better." The shrimp did not get better. The company did. That's what makes food taste better: the people you eat it with.

Gladys's cobbler. Mine. Hers was gone by three-fifteen. Mine was gone by three. Thomas's was gone by three-thirty. Three cobblers. Three stories. One table. The rivalry has become a tradition has become a legacy. Gladys said nothing about the results. The silence was louder than applause.

Now go on and feed somebody.

After a boil like that — two hundred and eighty people, three cobblers, and one four-year-old’s voice ringing out over the live oaks — what I always crave the next morning is something that carries the spirit of the shrimp without requiring four propane burners and Devon’s strong arms. This Eastern Shore Seafood Salad is my answer: creamy, briny, Old Bay-kissed, and built for the kind of people who eat slowly and savor every bite, the way Mrs. Crawford does. Make it the day before, let the flavors settle into each other the way good community does, and serve it to whoever shows up at your door still talking about yesterday.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked
1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked over for shells
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
Butter lettuce leaves or toasted rolls, for serving

Instructions

Cook and cool the shrimp. If shrimp are raw, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add shrimp and cook just until they curl into a C shape and turn pink, about 2–3 minutes. Drain immediately and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Pat dry and cut into bite-sized pieces if large.
Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, Old Bay, dry mustard, and black pepper until smooth and well combined.
Combine the seafood. Add the shrimp, crab meat, celery, red onion, and parsley to the dressing. Fold gently with a rubber spatula, taking care not to break up the crab lumps. Season with salt to taste.
Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to come together. The salad keeps well refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Serve. Spoon onto butter lettuce leaves for a light presentation, or pile into toasted rolls for a heartier version. Dust with a pinch of additional Old Bay just before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Eastern Shore Seafood Salad — The Shrimp That Curled Into a C