Rick went crabbing for opening season and we had our first experience on cooking live crab! It was very cool. He caught dungeness crab, so this is for that variety.
Place the live crab in the freezer or on ice for half an hour to put them into hibernation. Meanwhile, fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Add enough salt to taste like the ocean. To prep the crab, quickly remove the top shell part by prying open the tab opposite of the head. Clean out all of the insides and the lungs and gills. Break the crab in half lengthwise for an easier clean. Add the crab to the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Take out of boiling water and quickly plunge int an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Remove and serve. Otherwise, remove from water and let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Crack the shells with nut crackers or shellfish crackers. You can also pre crack with small hammers or mallets.
Dipping Sauces
Fresh crab doesn't really need anything, but if you want to dress it up, you can use the following:
Shellfish Dip- 2 parts mayonnaise, 1 part ketchup and a few drops of Tabasco sauce to taste.
Drawn butter- to clarify butter, melt in a saucepan and let cool to separate. Skim off top layer and reheat clarified butter.
Garlic and olive oil- Chop up lots of cloves of garlic, add olive oil, salt and pepper, crushed red pepper and parsley to taste.
No comments:
Post a Comment