Mike's Seafood Salad Recipe

Check and warm seafood

If your blue crab, shrimp, and crawfish are refrigerated from prior cooking, bring them to room temperature for 15–20 minutes. If they were cooked cold and you prefer warm salad components, gently warm in a skillet over low heat for 2–3 minutes with a teaspoon of butter until just warmed through; do not overcook. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Gently flake the blue crab meat into bite-size pieces, leaving some larger lumps for texture. If shrimp are whole, halve or quarter depending on size. Taste a small piece and season lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper if needed.

Hard-boil eggs: place eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water by 1 inch, bring to a rolling boil, then cover the pot and remove from heat. Let sit 10–12 minutes. Drain and cool eggs in an ice bath for 5 minutes, then peel and quarter or slice each egg. Reserve.

Rinse and dry romaine and iceberg lettuce thoroughly. Chop or tear into roughly 1–1.5 inch pieces. Combine in a large salad bowl or arrange on a platter to form the salad bed.

Shred the carrots if not already shredded. Thinly slice the red onion if using. Shred the cheddar cheese.

In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Creole or Dijon mustard, lemon juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay (or Creole seasoning), salt, and black pepper until smooth. Taste and adjust: add more lemon for brightness, more hot sauce for heat, or a touch more mayo if you want a milder dressing. If the dressing is very thick, whisk in up to 1 tablespoon water to reach desired consistency.

Toss the flaked blue crab, shrimp, and crawfish gently with about two-thirds of the dressing (reserve one-third to serve on the side or for guests who want extra). Use a rubber spatula and fold carefully so crab lumps remain intact.

On the bed of mixed romaine and iceberg, arrange the dressed seafood mixture in the center or distribute evenly. Scatter shredded carrots, sliced or quartered eggs, shredded cheddar, and red onion over and around the seafood.

Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top. Drizzle the optional teaspoon of olive oil over the greens for sheen, and arrange lemon wedges around the platter.

Serve immediately with reserved dressing on the side. Guests can squeeze lemon over their portion and add additional dressing or hot sauce to taste.

Serves chilled or at room temperature. If making ahead, keep dressing and seafood refrigerated separately and toss together up to 1 hour before serving to preserve lettuce texture. Stored refrigerated in an airtight container, leftover dressed seafood will keep 1–2 days; assembled salad is best eaten the same day.