Steak and Crab is the dish known as Steak Oscar: four 8-ounce filet mignon steaks seared in a hot skillet, topped with a lump crab mixture of mayonnaise, bread crumbs, egg white, lemon, Worcestershire and Old Bay, then baked until the topping turns golden. A spoonful of melted clarified butter finishes each one. It takes about 28 minutes and serves 4.
How to make it: Season the filets and heat the oven to 350°F. Mix the crab topping and fold in the crab gently. Sear the steaks 2 to 4 minutes per side, top each one generously with crab, and bake 12 minutes until golden and the steaks reach 145°F. Rest 3 minutes and serve with clarified butter and lemon.
Why You’ll Love It
- Surf and turf in one: the crab bakes right on top of the steak.
- Under 30 minutes: a quick sear, then 12 minutes in the oven.
- Big lumps of crab: the crab is folded in gently, not mashed.
- A generous plate: a full 8-ounce filet and 2 ounces of crab each.
Ingredient Notes
Filet mignon: 4 steaks, 8 ounces each, seasoned with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
Vegetable oil: 1 tablespoon, only if you’re not using a well-seasoned cast iron pan.
Crab topping: 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon bread crumbs, 1 egg white, 1/2 teaspoon each finely minced flat parsley, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay or another seafood seasoning.
Lump blue crab meat: 8 ounces. Fold it in last and gently so the lumps stay whole.
To finish: melted clarified butter or ghee (or a beurre blanc sauce), plus parsley, lemon wedges and snipped chives.
Ingredients
For the steaks
- 4 filet mignon (8 ounces each)
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to season the steaks
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional; not needed in a well-seasoned cast iron pan)
For the crab topping
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon bread crumbs
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon flat parsley, finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (or other seafood seasoning)
- 8 ounces lump blue crab meat, folded in gently
To serve
- Clarified butter (or ghee), melted, for spooning over the steaks (beurre blanc sauce also works); optional
- Parsley, lemon wedges and snipped chives, for garnish
How to Make Steak and Crab
1. Season the steaks. Season the filets with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Set them aside while you make the topping.
2. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil (not needed if you bake the steaks in a cast iron or other oven-safe skillet).
3. Mix the crab topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, bread crumbs, egg white, parsley, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Old Bay seasoning. Gently fold in the crab meat. Refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
4. Sear the steaks. In a well-seasoned cast iron pan no oil is needed. In stainless steel or another type of pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat first. When the pan is hot, carefully add the steaks and sear 2 to 4 minutes on each side. The steaks keep cooking in the oven, so sear them just until nicely browned on the outside.
5. Top and bake. Move the steaks to the prepared dish and top each one generously with the crab mixture. Bake 12 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Check with a food thermometer: the steaks must read at least 145°F and the center of the crab topping 160°F before they come out of the oven.
6. Rest and serve. Let the steaks rest 3 minutes. Spoon melted clarified butter or beurre blanc sauce over each filet, top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
What Is It Called When You Put Crab on Steak?
Steak topped with crab is called Steak Oscar, also Oscar-style steak or Filet Oscar. It’s a kind of surf and turf, the name for any steak served with seafood.
The dish started as Veal Oscar, named for Sweden’s King Oscar II: a veal cutlet topped with asparagus, crab and Béarnaise sauce. Steakhouses later made it with steak, which is how it’s most often served today.
Do steak and crab go together? Yes. Filet mignon topped with lump crab and a buttery or creamy sauce is a known dish in its own right.
Getting Both Halves Right
- Sear, don’t finish, in the pan. 2 to 4 minutes per side is just for a brown crust; the oven does the rest.
- Don’t crowd the skillet. If all four filets won’t fit with space between them, sear in batches.
- Fold the crab gently. Stir the topping first, then fold in the crab last so the lumps stay whole.
- Keep the topping cold until the steaks are seared.
- Use a thermometer. The steak is done at 145°F in the center, and the egg-bound topping at 160°F. Give it a few more minutes if either one is short.
- Rest 3 minutes before serving.
- Choose your pan. A cast iron or other oven-safe skillet goes straight into the oven; otherwise move the steaks to a foil-lined baking dish.
Variations
- Creamy crab sauce: cook bell pepper, garlic and green onion in butter, stir in a little flour, add heavy cream and simmer 2 to 4 minutes, then warm lump crab in it with paprika and cayenne. Spoon a heaping tablespoon over each seared steak.
- Garlic shallot crab sauce: butter, garlic and shallots with heavy cream and parsley, with the crab folded in last.
- Another cut: use any steak you like; cook it to 145°F.
- Different finish: ghee or beurre blanc instead of clarified butter.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour if it’s above 90°F) in shallow covered containers. They keep 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Not a good fit. The mayonnaise-based topping separates and looks curdled after thawing.
Reheating: Reheat covered until it reaches 165°F. Don’t reheat leftovers in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Asparagus is the traditional side: try roasted asparagus and carrots. Scalloped potatoes, roasted potatoes or a wedge salad round out the plate. Start with a cup of crab and shrimp seafood bisque.
For a bigger surf and turf, add a lobster tail. More steak dinners: steak Gorgonzola Alfredo and garlic butter steak bites with cheesy smashed potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is it called when you put crab on steak?
Steak Oscar, also called Oscar-style steak or Filet Oscar.
Do steak and crab go together?
Yes. Filet topped with lump crab and a buttery sauce is a well-known surf and turf dish.
What goes well with steak and crab?
Roasted asparagus, roasted or scalloped potatoes, a wedge salad and lemon wedges.
What’s it called when you have steak and seafood?
Surf and turf.
What temperature should the steak reach?
At least 145°F on a food thermometer, then rest 3 minutes.
Final Notes
Sear it hot, pile on the crab and let the oven finish the job. If you try the creamy crab sauce, tell me in the comments how you liked it.
Steak and Crab
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Ingredients
- 4 filet mignon 8 ounces each
- coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to season the steaks
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil optional; not needed in a well-seasoned cast iron pan
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon bread crumbs
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon flat parsley finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or other seafood seasoning
- 8 ounces lump blue crab meat folded in gently
- clarified butter or ghee, melted, for spooning over the steaks (beurre blanc sauce also works); optional
- parsley, lemon wedges and snipped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Season the filets with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Set them aside while you make the topping.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil (not needed if you bake the steaks in a cast iron or other oven-safe skillet).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, bread crumbs, egg white, parsley, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Old Bay seasoning. Gently fold in the crab meat. Refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
- In a well-seasoned cast iron pan no oil is needed. In stainless steel or another type of pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat first. When the pan is hot, carefully add the steaks and sear 2 to 4 minutes on each side. The steaks keep cooking in the oven, so sear them just until nicely browned on the outside.
- Move the steaks to the prepared dish and top each one generously with the crab mixture. Bake 12 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Check with a food thermometer: the steaks must read at least 145°F and the center of the crab topping 160°F before they come out of the oven.
- Let the steaks rest 3 minutes. Spoon melted clarified butter or beurre blanc sauce over each filet, top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
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