Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Crab Casserole
We featured this cookbook back in March but are revisiting it for a new recipe! Written by Emily Megget, a cultural treasure of Edisto Island, South Carolina, Emily Meggett has gained recognition through features on PBS, Food Network, and in publications like Bon Appétit and NPR. Her family's historical connection to the island includes ties to the Point of Pines cabin—a preserved 19th-century dwelling now exhibited at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
This groundbreaking cookbook offers an authentic window into Gullah Geechee culture through the recipes and stories. As our Binya readers know, the Gullah Geechee heritage dates back generations to when enslaved communities developed a distinct culture on South Carolina and Georgia's coastal Sea Islands. Their geographic separation preserved unique connections to West African traditions, including language, customs, and cooking methods that continue to thrive in the Lowcountry today.
Emily Meggett, approaching 90 with a family tree of over 50 descendants, serves as a cultural custodian and celebrated cook on Edisto Island, where she's spent her entire life. Her kitchen has become a destination for those seeking genuine Gullah Geechee cuisine, with Meggett still regularly preparing meals for large gatherings from her cherished home.
The cookbook showcases the distinctive characteristics of Gullah cooking—bold yet refined flavors featuring ingredients like heritage rice varieties, locally sourced seafood, wild game, and garden-fresh produce. Readers will discover traditional preparations including crispy fried oysters, slow-cooked collard greens, and authentic stone-ground grits, among other regional specialties.
Beyond recipes, this collection weaves in Meggett family narratives spanning generations back to the 1800s on Edisto Island. The book illuminates how West African and American Southern traditions merged to create the unique cultural landscape of the Sea Islands.
Crab Casserole Recipe
Crab Casserole Serves: 10 to 12
1 (12-ounce/340 g) box egg yolk noodles
2 dozen crabs, rinsed; or 2 pounds (910 g) crabmeat, undrained
¼ cup (½ stick/55 g) unsalted butter
1 small onion, grated
1 cup (100 g) diced celery
2 (10-ounce/298 g) cans cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons self-rising flour
½ cup (120 ml) half-and-half, or more if needed
1 cup (240 ml) milk, whole or 2%
½ teaspoon ground mace
½ cup (120 ml) sherry
½ cup (25 g) breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C).
Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
If using fresh crabs, fill an 8-quart (7.6 L) pot three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the fresh crabs and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the crabs from the water and allow them to cool. Remove the backs and the “dead man,” the grayish gills that look like accordions (see my Removing the Dead Man guide, this page), from each crab. Once all the backs and gills are removed, rinse the crabs. The next stage is hard work, but worth it!
Pick the meat from the back and claws. There should be about 2 pounds (910 g) meat. Add the picked crabmeat (or canned crabmeat) to the bowl of noodles and mix until combined.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Sauté the onion and celery in the butter over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cream of mushroom soup, flour, half-and-half, and milk to the saucepan and stir. If the sauce’s texture is too thin, add more half-and-half as needed. Add the mace and sherry and stir. Remove from the heat.
Transfer the crabmeat and noodle mixture to a greased 9 by 13-inch (23 by 33 cm) baking dish. Pour the sauce over the crab mixture. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the breadcrumbs and paprika, if using. Place the casserole dish in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling. Serve immediately.