Tasty Awesomeness: Ma Byrne's New Year's Eve Crabbies

My mom always makes something for New Year’s Eve that we call crabbies, though I’m sure there are other names for them.

It’s essentially a high-saturated fat mixture of crab meat, butter and fake cheese spread across an English muffin and broiled. You quarter the muffins when done and eat them like a bar snack or – in the fancy lingo of New Year’s eve food – a canapé.

Damn, if they ain’t the tastiest, most decadent thing you’ve ever had: a mouthful of hot, oozy, savory goodness.

I suggest pairing them with tons of your favorite beer. Of course, I suggest serving everything with tons of your favorite beer.

Crabbies may be just our name – a curiosity of local Irish-American vernacular typical of Boston’s South Shore in which everything is given an “-y” sound: Dunkin’ Donuts (Dunkies), Stop & Shop (Stoppy), package store (packy), English muffins (Engies), Wollaston (Wolly), Sam Adams (Sammies), sandwich (sangy) and, of course, crab muffins (crabbies).

Whatever you call them, crabbies are pretty damn good. 

Ma Byrne’s Crabbies

1 stick butter, softened

1 5-ounce jar Kraft Old English cheese spread, softened

1 6-ounce can crab meat

½ teaspoon mayonnaise

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon seasoned salt

½ teaspoon paprika

6 English muffins, split

Bring butter and cheese to room temperature and mix together well. Drain crab meat and check for shells. Add crab and remaining ingredients and mix together well. Spread mixture on top of English muffins. Preheat oven to 500 degrees or broil. Bake crabbies about 5 minutes, or until spread on top turns nice golden brown. Quarter and serve. You can also spread the mixture on the English muffins and then freeze until ready to bake. Serves about 6 people. 

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