Most seafood, such as crabs, tend to overwhelm self- taught home cooks. The general idea is that these seafood ingredients need cooking expertise to be handled, thus, they are too complicated to be served at home, making them only available at restaurants and resorts. This is certainly untrue because everyone really has the chance to recreate seafood recipes at home for simple family meals.
Crabs are one of the tastiest seafood there is. Cooking them is easy if home cooks have the right tools and ingredients at hand. Here are 3 crab recipes that will surely bring delight to your family table.
Maryland Blue Crab Chipachole (Soup) (from http://reluctantgourmet.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 2 pounds Maryland Blue Crabs
• ½ bunch of green onions, diced
• 1 large onion
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 5 Guajillo chilies, lightly toasted
• 3 pounds tomatoes
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prepare a large pot and pour 1 and ½ gallons of water for boiling. Add 1 tablespoon of salt.
2. After it boils, add the crabs. Wait for 20 minutes before removing them and giving an ice bath. The cooking liquid should be saved for later use.
3. The crabs’ lungs should be discarded, but save the innards and the shells .
4. Put green onions and mix them with the crab. Put them away for a while.
5. Pour 4 tablespoons of canola oil and sauté onion, thyme, black pepper, salt, tomatoes, garlic, Guajillo chilies, crab innards and shells in a low, wide pot. Boil them over high heat for 10 minutes. Gradually pour the cooking liquid saved in step 2. 15 minutes should be enough to cook them.
6. Use a blender or food processor to make a puree out of the ingredients, except for the shells, in step 5.
7. Strain them and pour the soup into bowls.
8. Garnish the soup with crab meat and green onions. Some fresh cilantro can also be added.
Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes (from http://www.food.com)
INGREDIENTS
• ¼ cup onion, minced
• Vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons green bell peppers, minced
• ¼ – ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup butter or ¼ cup margarine, melted
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 lb fresh crabmeat, drained and flaked
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• ¾ cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes, dried
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Use a skillet to saute the green pepper and onion in butter. Wait until they are tender.
2. Turn off the heat and add crab meat in the skillet. Stir it in.
3. Add cayenne pepper, ¾ cup fine bread crumbs, dry mustard, egg, Old Bay Seasoning, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, parsley flakes and lemon juice into the skillet. Blend the ingredients well.
4. From the mixture, shape 8 patties and sprinkle them with ¼- ½ fine dry bread crumbs.
5. Prepare another heavy skillet and pour vegetable oil in it. It should be ¼ inch deep.
6. The cakes should be fried in hot oil, around 375 degrees.
7. Each side should get fried for 4-5 minutes.
Roasted Orange Garlic Crab (from http://www.thekitchn.com)
INGREDIENTS
• ¼ cup butter, about ½ stick
• ½ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large Dungeness crabs, cooked partway (clean and remove the claws and legs. Cut the rib sections in 2 inch chunks)
• 2 shallots, minced
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prepare the oven and heat it up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Put butter and olive oil in a large pot to melt. Reduce the heat to a medium.
3. The garlic and shallot should be put in, along with the crabs, salt, thyme and pepper. For a few minutes, mix them well.
4. Transfer the pot to the oven. For 10- 15 minutes, let the contents roast until crabs are warm. Take note of the crabmeat and make sure it’s already opaque.
5. Prepare a plate and put the crabs in it.
6. Orange juice should be poured into the pot along with cooking oils and seasonings. Stir well while boiling to reduce the sauce in half. This should take around 5 minutes.
7. Get a spoon and use it to pour small amounts of sauce over the crabs.
8. For the finishing touch, add parsley as garnish.
Crabs are packed with different nutrients and minerals, making them a perfect ingredient in your main dishes. These nutrients and minerals include Vitamins, A, C and B12, Omega 3, zinc copper and selenium. It is also high in protein.
Author Bio:
Linda Rosario is a food enthusiast from Chef Needs “The Kitchen that Every Restaurant Needs”. Linda also loves arts and crafts and works as a pre-school teacher.
