Baked Spider Crab Recipes

BAKED SPIDER CRAB RECIPE

Steps:

• If you are cooking the crab yourself, place a large pan of water on to boil and add about five tablespoons of salt. Once the crab is submerged, wait until the water returns to the boil and only then start your timer. You'll need around 15 minutes for a large crab (2lb/1kg) and 10 minutes for smaller crabs. Drain in cold water and allow the crab to cool naturally.
• To prepare the crab, it's a good idea to have two bowls ready. Into one bowl, pull all the legs and claws off the crab and set aside. Then on a board, turn the crab on its back and 'pop' the shell off from the body, this is done by holding the crab upside down with its eyes facing away from you. Use your thumbs to push the shell off and the body will come away. Once the body and shell are separated, first clean the shell thoroughly and set aside for filling it with the sauce. Secondly you must remove the rich brown meat from inside the shell and pour it into the other bowl. Moving back on to the main body, you'll see two rows of feathery 'fingers' - these are called 'dead man's fingers and they are the crab's gills and MUST be removed. They act as the crab's main barrier to bacteria and can make you ill should you consume one - they simply just pull off. You'll notice the centre of the body also contains some more brown meat. Using the handle of a tea spoon or a crab picker, you can now work your way around the carcass, picking out all the white meat into the bowl. For the claws and legs, you will need to use a hammer and the crab picker to go one by one. Lightly crack the shells with the help of the hammer and open each part of the leg and claw and pick out the white meat. Be careful of the translucent cartilage parts in between the joints of the legs and claws as they need to be removed. Now you need to check all the white meat for any shell. Just . work through the bowl with your fingers, ensuring that there is nothing sharp or any hard bits in there.
• Warm the oil and butter in a medium sized pan, add the onions and leek and poach very slowly for 20 minutes, add the cognac and flambé. Add the tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes and cook slowly for a further 15 to 20 minutes, wet the sauce with the ladle of shellfish stock and add the crab meat, cook for a couple of minutes and stir well.
• Pour the filling into the crab shell, the sauce should not be too liquid or too dry, sprinkle the top of the shell with the breadcrumbs and place a couple of knobs of butter on top.
• Place the crab shell into a pre-heated oven at 200˚C/400˚F/Gas Mark 6 for 12 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

CRAB CAKE SLIDERS

Steps:

• Prepare the crab cakes: Tear 3 buns into small pieces to make about 3/4 cup; put in a medium bowl. Whisk 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, the melted butter, egg, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another bowl. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the bun pieces and stir to combine; let sit 10 minutes, then gently fold in the crabmeat. Brush a baking sheet with butter. Tightly pack the crab mixture into 15 small patties and arrange on the prepared baking sheet; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until golden and slightly crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings. Break each piece of bacon into thirds; set aside. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup mayonnaise, the lemon zest and the reserved bacon drippings in a bowl; season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the broiler. Arrange the remaining 15 buns cut-side up on a baking sheet; brush with butter and broil until golden. Transfer the crab cakes to the broiler and cook, rotating the pan as needed, until golden and warmed through, about 6 minutes.
• Spread the cut sides of the buns with some of the lemon mayonnaise. Sprinkle with diced red onion. Serve the crab cakes on the buns with tomatoes, lettuce and the bacon. Serve with pickles.

CRABS - GARLIC BUTTER BAKED CRAB LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, grab yourself a small saucepan. On med low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic (I prefer a press) and LIGHTLY saute. Squeeze in the juice of the citrus of choice. If using a lemon, squeeze the juice into your hands so that you can remove the seeds with ease. Turn the heat to low and let those flavors mesh until the oven is nice and hot. Toss in as much salt (to taste) and a couple pinches of parsley. Then whisk in that olive oil with a fork. Turn off your burner.
• Arrange your tasty crustaceans in a 9x13 baking dish, brushing each leg with the sauce. ***TASTY TIP*** I use an injector to pop a *little* extra UMPH into my crabs. Pour any remaining sauce over those puppies. Now toss the pan into the oven on the center rack.
• Bake your crabs for about 25 minutes or so (depending on how thick the legs you have are), brushing the sauce from the bottom of the pan onto the legs every 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with a few pinches o' parsley for garnish.
• I am a lazy gal, detest doing more dishes than I have to, and am a firm believer in the "waste not, want not" phrase. With that said, I just serve the crab in the same dish I baked it in so I can dip the meat into the tasty sauce, savoring every last drop. If you are the opposite, use tongs and place them on a platter and pour the buttery-goodness into ramekins. VOILA! Crab House comparable delicacy! "Ohhhh my CRAAAABS!