Many people love crab, but because they eat it so infrequently, they don’t really know how to make the most of the ingredient. Crab is precious and sometimes costly, so it isn’t usually on the nightly menu. Chefs know how to prepare it, but you don’t.
Fortunately, if you’re in this position, this post is here to help. We look at how you’ve been eating crab all wrong, and what you can do to make it even more magical than it already is.
Eat It Hot Or Cold
Whenever you buy crab, the temptation is to only eat it hot. However, this ingredient can be great cold as well.
Why is this?
It’s all to do with how the fat in the meat matures when you keep it in the refrigerator. It has a succulent quality about it that can actually improve if you chill it overnight and then enjoy it the next morning.
What’s more, you have so many options for how you want to consume it. You could pair it with lettuce and stuff it into a lettuce up or mix it with some avocado and mayo and spread it on some toast. It’s really up to you how creative you want to be with it.
Turn Scraps Into Something Delicious
At the same time, whenever you buy crab, you don’t want to waste any of it. Any scraps that go in the bin are, frankly, a missed opportunity.
The good news is that there are all sorts of ways to use these, even if they’re still attached to shells.
One way is to simply turn them into crab stock. Just boil the remaining parts of the crab in some water with celery, carrot and onion for an hour. Then, you have the base for a soup, to which you can add other ingredients, like potato or fish.
If you can also use it for risotto. It works great if you have a fresh supply of rice and shrimp.
Pair With Random Sides
This next idea might sound strange, but you can make crab even more magical by pairing it with unexpected sides. If you can get the flavor combination right, you’ll often discover something completely new.
For example, crab works well with grilled corn and chili-lime butter. This option tastes a bit like an Asian fusion dish, and it’s well worth checking out.
You might also want to mix crab with some picked fennel. Again, this combination is complementary and well worth experimenting with if you haven’t experienced anything like it before.
Finally, you might want to try mixing crab fat with sourdough. Again, what you get is a wonderful taste explosion that’s like nothing else you’ve had before.
Make A Butter Dip
Butter and crab go incredibly well together — far better than you’d expect. The reason for this is the type of fat in each of these foods. Again, they’re naturally complementary and enhance mouth feel. Plus, butter is often salty, so that elevates the experience further.
If you really want to go to town and make the most of this pairing, then try creating your own butter dip. Melt the butter and then add some garlic, smoked paprika, mustard seed, and lemon zest to taste. This combination will give you something fresh with a little kick. Then, you can pour the dip into a pot and use that to flavor the crab meat even more. It’s such a simple idea, takes only a few minutes to prepare, and allows you to make the most of your crab while you can.
Crack Your Crab Properly
If you’ve been bashing crab to get the meat out, you’ve probably been doing it all wrong. You want it to split cleanly when you open it.
The main reason for this is obvious: you don’t want any shell shards in your food. That’s no fun. However, the secondary reason is that it helps to preserve the quality of the meat and avoids stressing it out. Just bashing it can cause bruising, which then affects the flavor.
How you open up the crab depends on the location of the meat. The legs require snipping lengthways and then opening a bit like a banana. For the claws, you’ll want to cut at the joints and then crack the back of them with a knife, being careful to avoid splinters. Once you have them open using these methods, you should be able to slip a fork or a chopstick inside and pull out the meat.
Steam The Crab
Next, you’ll want to steam your crabs. Don’t boil them (despite the popularity of this method on TV). Steaming is superior because it prevents any of the flavor of the crab meats from entering the water. Instead, it all remains inside the shell.
Steaming is also surprisingly easy. Just fill a pan with about an inch of water, plenty of salt , and perhaps some white wine if you like that sort of aroma. Then, you simply leave with the lid closed to steam for around 15 minutes (less if you want it to be rare). After that, simply combine with the butter dip described above or some lemon slices on the side. It doesn’t need to be complicated.
Dispatch Humanely
If your crabs are live, you should also work on your technique for dispatching them humanely. If you cause them stress, it’ll lead to tension in the meat.
The best way to do this is to cool the crab down in the freezer for about 20 minutes before preparing it. The lower temperature essentially puts it into a deep sleep. Then you can cut into the apron and remove the brain quickly.
Choose Your Crabs Well
Finally, make sure you choose your crabs well. Just going to the supermarket probably isn’t a good idea. Ideally, you want to use a trusted vendor who understands how to source the highest-quality crabs. These are often from pristine sources in regions like Maine or off the coast of Alaska where the water is still clean.
Leave a Reply