Corn, crab, and Old Bay are the taste of summer. Put them together in these easy deviled eggs, and you've got your next favorite recipe for a picnic or barbecue!

Photography Credit: Irvin Lin

My aunt, uncle, and cousins live in the Maryland/Washington, D.C. area, and I would visit them from time to time growing up. One of the strongest food memories I have from our visits was a giant crab boil.

You boil crab and corn together in a large pot, and liberally season it all with Old Bay seasoning. The contents of the entire pot would be emptied out onto newspaper in the center of our table, and we’d dig in, making a huge mess in the process but enjoying ourselves immensely.

It’s a classic combination of flavors that translates well into so many things, including deviled eggs!

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What is Old Bay Seasoning?

If you’ve never had Old Bay before, it’s a combination of celery salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and paprika, along with a few other herbs and spices. It’s fairly popular in Maryland and New England, along with the Southern states.

It is used on shellfish such as crab and shrimp, as well as anything and everything that can use a dash of salty seasoning, like seafood chowder, tater tots, corn on the cob, and potato chips. I actually shake it over my French fries and even occasionally add it to Shrimp Spring Rolls for a New England twist!

The Best Crabmeat

I highly recommend that you purchase lump crabmeat from the seafood counter at your local grocery store. Ask them to include some big chunks of crabmeat so you can have that to garnish the eggs.

I don’t recommend substituting imitation crabmeat for this recipe. The flavor, texture, and neon red color just won’t work for this recipe.

A Word on the Corn

You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn, which means you can make this recipe all year round!

If corn is in season, consider grilling it. This gets a little bit of smoky char on the kernels. The smoky flavor works really well with the Old Bay seasoning and other ingredients.

If you use frozen or canned corn, you can also sauté it in a clean and dry nonstick pan on the stovetop to give it a bit of char and color! Cook the corn kernels on high heat, stirring or shaking the pan constantly, until the kernels start to darken. Then, remove them from the heat.

The corn won’t have the same powerful smoky flavor that it gets from a good grilling, but it will have a little bit of a charred flavor compared to corn used directly from the can or frozen bag.

TIPS FOR MAKING and EATING THESE DEVILED EGGS

You can make these eggs up to 24 hours in advance if the crabmeat is very fresh!

If not, you can make the egg filling up to two days in advance, but without the crabmeat. Just store the filling in a bowl with plastic wrap pressed on the surface of the egg filling (to prevent a crust from forming). Once you have the crabmeat, just stir in the portion that you are using in the filling, and proceed with the recipe.

Store the filling in a resealable plastic bag so you can pipe it into the egg whites (just snip the corner of the bag to pipe the filling into the eggs).

Once the eggs are assembled, they should be eaten the day of.

This recipe doubles easily.

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