“Social” Backyard Barbecue - Crabby Tater Tot Casserole

This little recipe adventure started the way so many do—while scrolling through Facebook. A quirky mash-up recipe popped up on my feed: crab and tater tots, together in one golden, crunchy creamy bite. It was just strange enough, and just comforting enough, that I tucked it away in the back of my mind.

When the weekend rolled around, I was invited to some friends’ house for a backyard BBQ - you know, the kind that feels like a small celebration—the kind that marks the figurative end of summer. I wanted to bring something special.

That’s when I remembered the Facebook recipe. I grabbed a bag of tots, some gorgeous Mirabel backfin crabmeat, cream cheese, some Old Bay, and started playing.

Everyone brought something different, and all the food was great. But it was the kind of gathering where the clock doesn’t really matter, because the company is the main course.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups frozen mini potato tots - about 1 28-ounce pkg.

3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, divided

3 tablespoons butter

2 medium shallots, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

3 tablespoons dry vermouth

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

hot sauce to taste (such as Tabasco)

1.5 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Zest from 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste *

1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained and picked over

METHOD

Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange tots in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the Old Bay over the tots.

Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 20 minutes.

While tots bake, melt the butter in a skillet over medium. 

Add shallots and celery; cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add vermouth; cook, stirring constantly, until mostly evaporated, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Stir together cream cheese, chives, mayonnaise, sour cream, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, and remaining  Old Bay in a large bowl.

Gently, gently fold in crabmeat and shallot mixture. You don’t want it to shred the meat when you’ve got these gorgeous hunks of crab.

Taste and adjust if necessary. When I first made the mixture it didn’t have enough salt or spice, so I added more to my own preference.

Spread mixture in a 1-quart gratin baking dish.

Top evenly with tots. No need to lay them out perfectly, but make sure it’s a single layer and the crab is covered.

Bake at 425°F until crab mixture bubbles around the edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.

Lots of laughter, lawn chairs, food and cold drinks later, I looked up at the perfect summer sky and was grateful for a great evening.

Crabby tater tots may not be fancy, but they were a reminder of what summer food is really about: not perfection, but presence—sharing easy, joyful flavors with old friends and a few new ones as the season slowly turns into fall.