I am the origional submitter of the recipe and yes 3 tablespoons of Old Bay is alot...but being from Maryland ..we love Old Bay and it's never enough for us! Of course it probably would be a little much for most people..so just adjust the amount to suit your taste. This is still the best cream of crab I have tasted. Enjoy!!
We are picky about our cream of crab and this recipe is a definite keeper. It's the first one that turned out great. I think the hollandaise and sherry are just the right amounts and give it a great flavor. This would have been 5 stars without changes, but I did add a bit of extra sherry and crabmeat. Those two changes are just personal preference. On top of being a terrific recipe, it was also quite easy to make. Not too many ingredients or steps to follow. I'd make this for dinner party.
Great idea - great soup. I tripled this recipe and supplemented about 1/3 of the lump crab with shrimp meat. I also added sauteed onions and celery, a little more sherry, and chopped parsley. There are a lot of great additions you could do with this soup - the base is awesome. The half & half can easily be replaced with milk for a few less fat cals - it's still rich and creamy. The ONLY reason I'm not giving this recipe 5 stars is because of the out-of-control Old Bay called for. I used half and had more than enough. Great recipe anyway, thanks Karyn!
I've been cooking recipes from AllRecipes.com for years, however this is my first review because I felt soup this exceptional deserves to be praised. I make a similar crab soup, but it always seemed to be lacking in flavor. So the addition of the envelope of hollandaise sauce was brilliant. I only made some minor adjustments - at the suggestion of other reviewers, I used a tad bit less Old Bay Seasoning. I also doubled the amount of cooking sherry only because I really enjoy the flavor of sherry in seafood cream-based soups. Since I was only cooking this for myself, I had some left over, and it was just as wonderful warmed in the microwave the following day, however, I added a small amount of milk to cut down on the thickness from being refrigerated. Thank you for sharing such a delicious soup!
karyns I use to drive 26 miles to a expensive resturant to get this soup. when i reviewed your recipe and then made it I almost cried. It was wonderful. Now here I am making as a soup for my husband surprise party wait till the guests try this...you are the best.
This soup is awesome! I made it for the first time on Christmas day. It's so rich and creamy. However, I do think that 3 tablespoons of old bay is way too much-very spicy! I am making it again tonight and am not adding any but will add it to my own bowl to suit my taste.
This was delicious and very easy to prepare. I was going to give it 4 stars because 3 tablespoons of Old Bay is way to much. Luckly I used only 2 Tablespoons and still I could have done with 1 and a half. Perhaps there was a typo and it was supposed to be 3 teaspoons instead. Also since it was already alot of salt I used a splash of Merlot in place of the cooking sherry. My kidz devoured it! Being from Maryland we are always in search of the best Cream of Crab soup. Now I know wear to find it--In my kitchen!
UPDATE: I have made this tons of times since my earlier rating and found that you MUST you a GOOD Brand of Hollandaise Sauce Mix - KNORR's. I have used other brands and it completel changed the taste and I did not like it as much. -- Original Rating: This is so WONDERFUL!! and THE BEST Crab Soup ever!!! I used everything that it called for, including all the Old Bay; but I too am from Maryland and like spicy. I froze some to see how it would turn out and it was just as good when I heated in the microwave. I use to buy a really good famous resturant brand of frozen Cream of Crab Soup, now I will make this over and over; and freeze it and take to work on cold days. Thanks, Karyn. Its the best!!!
Awesome!! We made this for my birthday and only put in half the Old Bay and it was so good that my husband and I decided that it would a birthday tradition. I'm from Baltimore as well but felt that 3 T of Old Bay would've been too much. This rates up there with Gibby's Cream of (Baltimore restaurant that had the best Cream of Crab that I ever tasted)
Way too much Old Bay! The soup may have been good otherwise but the salt from the Old Bay overpowered the taste of the soup. I may try this again but with only a fraction of the Old Bay.
