Crab-Stuffed Beignets
Author: 
 
Makes about 18
Ingredients
  • 4½ cups bread flour, divided, plus more for dusting
  • 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons warm water
  • 2¼ teaspoons yeast
  • 2⅓ cups unsalted butter, room temperature and divided
  • 1⅓ cups whole milk, plus more if necessary
  • 1 large egg
  • 1½ teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • Olive oil
  • 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • Ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ pound crabmeat, picked free of shell
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • Zest of ½ lemon
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • Hot sauce and Creole or Cajun seasoning, to taste
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Flaked sea salt
Instructions
  1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together ¼ cup bread flour, 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons warm water, and yeast. Set aside for 20 minutes to develop the sponge.
  2. In the meantime, place ⅓ cup unsalted butter, milk, egg, sugar, salt, and remaining 4¼ cups bread flour into the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn on low speed until just incorporated. Scrape down with a rubber spatula. Run on low speed until a few larger chunks of butter remain.
  3. Once the yeast has been activated, add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape mixture from sides of bowl and mix on low speed for about 15 seconds. Flour hands generously because the dough is very sticky. Scrape dough off paddle attachment.
  4. Switch to the dough hook attachment, and mix dough at low speed for about 3 minutes. With well-floured hands, pull dough off dough hook; mix on medium-low speed until bread pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is elastic and smooth, about 3 minutes.
  5. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a bowl; place dough in prepared bowl. Lightly spray the top of the dough with cooking spray, and tightly cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough proof at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
  6. In a medium cast-iron pot, add remaining 2 cups butter, and melt over low heat. Keep warm.
  7. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over high heat, add olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add green onion, garlic, and a hearty pinch of kosher salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring constantly, until softened but green onion still has a vibrant color, about 2 minutes. Add crabmeat, and cook, gently stirring, until warmed through. Gently add cream cheese, and stir until combined. Transfer to a medium bowl, and gently fold in lemon zest. Gently fold in parsley and hot sauce and Creole or Cajun seasoning to taste. Cover and refrigerate until just cool (but not cold).
  8. On a well-floured surface, punch dough, and gently roll with a rolling pin to ½-inch thickness. Using a well-floured pizza cutter, square the sides off (reserving scraps for another use). Re-flour pizza cutter, and cut dough into 3-inch strips. Cut strips into 3-inch squares. Dust a sheet tray with more flour; transfer dough to prepared sheet tray, and let stand for about 10 minutes. At this point, the sheet tray could be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let refrigerated dough stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes before frying.
  9. To clarify butter, take a shallow spoon or ladle and remove any white foam from the surface of the melted butter, and discard. Carefully ladle out golden butter from the pot into another medium bowl, being careful not to scrape the bottom. Add lemon juice and a generous pinch of kosher salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Prepare a deep fryer to 375°.
  11. Prepare a pastry bag with a ½-inch piping tip, and spoon in crabmeat mixture.
  12. In batches, add dough to fryer. You want to make sure they have space to rise. Turn after about 3 minutes. Let drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with sea salt. While still warm, cut a slit in the side. Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the hole, and fill generously with crab mixture. Repeat with remaining beignets. Serve beignets hot with clarified butter mixture for dipping.
Recipe by Louisiana Cookin' at https://louisianacookin.com/crab-stuffed-beignets/