Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Hot Pot Recipes

CHESAPEAKE BAY "CRABBY" MAC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add minced shallots and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour to make a roux. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes to cook the flour. Slowly, add 3 cups milk. When milk is incorporated into the roux, add the seafood seasoning, and the block of cream cheese. Cook until cream cheese is melted. Add shredded Manchego and Cheddar cheeses and parsley. Cook until all the cheese is melted. Add the sherry, if desired.
• Cook macaroni according to package directions or until just al dente. Drain macaroni. Stir cheese mixture into cooked macaroni and old in crabmeat. (Be sure to fold in crabmeat so you don't break up the lumps too much, you want nice chunks of crab.) Put mixture in a baking dish.
• For the topping:
• Mix melted butter, bread crumbs, seafood seasoning, and parsley. Sprinkle topping on the dish. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to make the topping crispy. Garnish with fresh parsley.

CHINESE SEAFOOD HOT POT

Steps:

• Place the stock, ginger, garlic and green onions in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Soak the noodles in warm water until softened; drain. Cut into bite-size lengths. Cut the greens into bite-size pieces. Cut the scallops into thin slices. Cut the squid into rings. Cut the tofu into cubes. Arrange the noodles, seafood, vegetables and tofu on a large platter. Cover and chill until ready to cook. Reheat the broth to simmering. Set a Mongolian hot pot or electric wok in the center of a table. Pour the broth into the pot and adjust heat to a gentle simmer. The guests use chopsticks or Chinese wire strainers to cook the seafood, vegetables and tofu slices in the boiling water and then dip into the sauce of their choice. Any remaining greens can be added at the end with the noodles to make the soup.
• Place garlic in a mortar. Mash with the heel of a cleaver or pestle. Add sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add water, mustard powder, oils and vinegar stirring between each addition.
• In a small mixing bowl combine ginger and honey and stir until combined. Add the sesame oil and soy sauce, stirring between each addition.

CRISPY SKINNED CHESAPEAKE BAY ROCKFISH WITH HAYMAN SWEET POTATO, VIRGINIA COUNTRY HAM AND BLUE CRAB HASH, MELTED LEEKS AND MEYER LEMON BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the Meyer lemon butter: In a small saucepan, reduce the Meyer lemon juice until slightly syrupy. Stir in the heavy cream. Whisk in the cold cubed butter a few pieces at a time, not allowing the sauce to become cold or too hot to touch by hand. When all of the butter is incorporated, strain the sauce. If the sauce separates, pulse with an immersion blender to emulsify. Set aside and keep warm.
• For the hash: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, salt it generously. Trim the root end of the leek and halve lengthwise. Rinse very well under running water to flush out any grit trapped between the leaves. Slice leeks into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, put in a small strainer and dip in the boiling water. Cook until just tender, about 3 minutes, then plunge strainer and leeks in an ice water bath to cool. Drain and pat dry leeks, set aside. Repeat this procedure with the diced sweet potatoes, blanch until almost tender, about 3 minutes, then cool in the ice bath. Drain and pat dry, set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the blanched Hayman sweet potatoes leeks, sweat until very tender about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the leeks continue to cook until heated through. Add the crab and country ham, stirring gently until heated through. Add the fines herbes at the last minute. Season, to taste, with salt and white pepper. Set aside and keep warm while you prepare the fish.
• For the rockfish: Score the skin side of the fillets with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut too far into the flesh of the fish. Season with salt and white pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the clarified butter. Add the rockfish skin side down, sear until skin is golden and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, add the butter and thyme and bake until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• In a bowl or plate, drizzle the warm Meyer lemon butter in a circle just inside the rim. Gently place the warm blue crab hash in the center of the plate. Place the rockfish on top of the hash with the crispy skin side up. Garnish with Meyer lemon segments or slices, if desired.

HOT POT AT HOME

Steps:

• For the pork broth: Fill a 7-quart Dutch oven with 12 cups cold water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, soak the pork bones in cold water in a large bowl, to remove some of the blood, for about 20 minutes or until the water boils. Add the bones to the pot and boil until the water darkens and there's a lot of foam on the surface, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse the bones and clean the pot of any residue.
• Return the pork bones to the pot and add the carrots, corn, daikon and 16 cups cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the broth is very milky, about 2 1/2 hours. Skim off any dark proteins and fat, then lightly season with salt.
• Transfer the pork broth, along with the bones and other solids, which will continue to flavor the broth, to an 11-inch hot pot pot with a divider. Add the chili oil to one side of the pot. Place the pot on a portable butane burner and bring to a boil over high heat.
• For the components: Meanwhile, arrange the beef, fish, cabbage, spinach, potatoes, pumpkin, eggs, fish tofu and udon noodles on plates or platters, as you like. Set out at least two pairs of chopsticks or tongs and small strainer baskets (these are useful when cooking more fragile ingredients, such as fish, tofu and the like). As for the chopsticks/tongs, let everyone know not to use the same pair for picking up raw and cooked meat and fish.
• For the condiments: Create a "dipping sauce station" with any of the condiments, along with a bunch of small plates and bowls. Each person can mix and match them as they like.
• Once the broth is boiling, start cooking! Let each person cook their own ingredients in the broth (the side with the chili oil is spicier), being mindful not to overcrowd the pot. If the broth reduces too much and you still have raw ingredients left, add some warm water to the pot and bring to a boil. If you like, you can eat the marrow from the pork bones.
• Proteins-Thinly sliced chicken, pork or lamb, mini-pork sausages, low-sodium luncheon meat cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, shellfish, fish cakes, tofu
• Vegetables-sweet potato, kabocha squash, watercress, bok choy, corn on the cob, lotus root, kale, chile peppers, tomato, bean sprouts, enoki, shiitake or button mushrooms
• Noodles, etc.-ramen noodles, rice noodles, konjac noodle knots, dumplings, rice cakes, dried tofu sticks
• Stir together the Pork Broth, BBQ sauce, sesame paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic and scallions in a small bowl until combined.

HOT POT WITH CRAB WONTONS

Steps:

• To make the soup: Remove the claws from the crabs and quarter the bodies. In a large stockpot, add the oil, ginger, shallots, and chile for 2 minutes until fragrant. Then add the crabs and miso. Cover with 1 gallon of cold water and place over medium heat; simmer for 30 minutes. In the meantime, you can focus on assembling the wontons.
• Heat a skillet over medium flame and coat with the peanut oil; add the ginger, shallot, and carrot, saute for 2 minutes to soften. Put the lump crabmeat in a mixing bowl and scrape in the ginger mixture. Fold in the green onion, cilantro, mayonnaise, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Be careful not to mash the crabmeat, you want that texture when you bite into the wonton.
• Lay a wonton wrapper on a flat surface and brush with the beaten egg white. Drop 1 tablespoon of the crab filling onto the center of the wrapper. Fold the wonton in half, corner to corner, to form a triangle. Press around the filling to knock out any air bubbles, then press the seam together to seal so the filling doesn't seep out. Brush the 2 side points with beaten egg white. Lay your index finger in the center so you have something to press up against, then fold the 2 sides into the center, slightly overlapping, and press the dough against your finger with your thumb to form a tight seal. Lightly dust the filled wontons with cornstarch to keep them from sticking together and place them on a cookie sheet. When these are folded they look like Pope hats.
• When the wontons are all filled and folded, strain the soup broth to remove the solids and pour it into the hot pot. Bring the soup to a simmer. Toss in the shiitake mushrooms and the wontons; simmer for 15 minutes until the wontons are cooked. Add the lime juice and cilantro; ladle into soup bowls and serve.

STEAMED BLUE CRABS

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup seafood seasoning, salt, beer, and vinegar in a large stockpot over high heat. Bring to a strong simmer.
• Right before cooking, carefully place each crab upside down and stick a knife through the shell, just behind mouth.
• Fit a screen over the beer mixture and layer the crabs on the screen. Be sure that the crabs are above the simmering liquid. Cover.
• Steam crabs until they turn bright orange and all of the blue/green color is gone, 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup seafood seasoning before serving.

CHESAPEAKE CRAB DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°; in a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, mustard, seafood seasoning and garlic salt. Fold in crab. Transfer to a greased 9-in. pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika., Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with crackers. Refrigerate leftovers.