Sometimes, after a recipe becomes associated with a whole region, it becomes hard to pin down who, if anybody, deserves credit for it. But that’s not the case with the Mobile-area staple known as West Indies Salad.

No, the legend points unequivocally to one guy: Bill Bayley Sr., who opened Bayley’s Seafood Restaurant in south Mobile County in the late 1940s. As the oft-told story goes, he’d played around with a concept years before, when his work in the Merchant Marine took him to the West Indies. He’d boiled some lobster, added onion, then marinated those in oil and vinegar.

Once he and his wife, Ethel, had their own restaurant going, he switched to locally available lump crab meat and refined the notion. People liked it. A lot. And it’s not hard to see why: It’s fairly easy to make, it showcases a fresh coastal treat and it’s an appealing alternative to the fry-it-all-and-let-the-cardiologist-sort-it-out school of seafood cuisine.

Bayley’s is long gone, though the Dauphin Island Parkway intersection where it stood probably will always be known as Bayley’s Corner. Bill Sr. closed his restaurant in 1986, but continued his catering operation. Bill Bayley Jr. opened a new version of Bayley’s in 1993 and ran it until June 2022.

Most likely, plenty of home chefs (and other restaurateurs) tried their hand at it even before the Bayley’s recipe was published in a Junior League of Mobile cookbook in 1964. But at that point, the cat was out of the bag.

No wonder variations on the theme can be found in restaurants, seafood markets and catering spreads throughout the Mobile area. One prime case in point would be Grand Mariner Restaurant & Marina, which seems to serve something very close to the original. (Meaning: If there was something in there other than crab, onion, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil, this writer couldn’t spot it.)

The restaurant sits in a highly picturesque location, flanked by a marina and Dog River, with boats everywhere you look and the waters of Mobile Bay sparkling brightly on the other side of the Dog River Bridge. A recent Sunday-afternoon visit found that market price for a quarter-pound of West Indies Salad was $16.45, which gets you a heaping side-dish portion, enough for everyone in a party of three or four to have a few bites.

The thought occurred that this is a dish that should be right at home on the region’s holiday tables. It’s crisp, clean and light and showcases a local bounty. It could definitely provide a counterpoint, or even an alternative, to the heavier fare served from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

Crabmeat, onion, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, ice water. It’s a dish so simple it’s almost impossible to mess up. It’s also one that’s almost impossible not to mess with. Even the folks at Southern Living can’t help but pretty it up with lemon zest and mint and a bed of lettuce.

You’ll find a lot of variations out there. You can spice it up in any way you please, or use alternate seafood rather than crab. Bayley reportedly used lobster in his prototype version. But the beautiful simplicity of West Indies Salad is what has made it iconic.

And here’s the recipe, from the Press-Register archives. (You also can find it online at www.food.com.) It calls for one medium onion, chopped fine; one pound of fresh lump crab meat; four ounces of Wesson oil; three ounces of cider vinegar; four ounces of ice water; and salt and pepper. Spread half the onion over the bottom of a large bowl. Cover with separated crab lumps and then with the remaining onion. Salt and pepper. Pour oil, vinegar, ice water over it all. Cover and marinate it for two to twelve hours. Toss lightly before serving.

As longtime Press-Register Food Editor David Holloway once advised, it’s usually eaten over saltines “with impunity.”

And there you have it: an iconic coastal favorite that’s perfect as is, but easy to modify. It’s so simple that it seems highly likely other coastal cultures have their own versions; but be that as it may, Lower Alabama owes a debt of gratitude to Bill Bayley Sr.