Cold Cracked Dungeness Crab With Crab Toasts Recipes

KILLER CRAB WHOLE DUNGENESS CRAB ROASTED IN GARLIC SAUCE

Steps:

• Crabs: Depending on where you get the crabs they could be alive or preboiled.
• If they're alive, place the crabs in boiling water for 5 minutes (until red in color). Remove from pot and cool them in iced water (quick cool). With your thumb and index finger pry open the head, remove innards and save. Under running water wipe clean the head area.
• Crab innards: In a blender add the innards with 1/4 cup of white wine, blend on pulse, strain, and save.
• In a pot on medium heat add olive oil, shallots, rosemary, thyme, and peppercorns. Cook until light brown, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of wine. Add the blended crab innards, the canola oil, and the garlic salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Skim the top, remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes. Strain through a sieve or cheesecloth. Whisk in the garlic puree and let rest.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the 2 crabs in a large oven-proof skillet, ladle the crab butter over them, (be generous) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Set the crabs on your serving dish, sprinkle with garlic salt, put the empty head shells back on (you can brush the shell with olive oil to shine) sprinkle. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

THE EASIEST WHOLE DUNGENESS CRAB RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil, season with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Once the water comes to a boil, remove from heat. Immerse two of the crabs into the water for 5-10 minutes until the crabs are warmed through. Remove the crabs from the water and set aside to drain. Bring the water to another boil and repeat with remaining crabs.
• Clean the crabs while the other two crabs are warming in the hot water. Crack the legs with the back of a heavy knife. Serve on a platter with fresh dill leaves, parsley and sliced lemons and limes.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Reduce the heat to low and skim the foam from the butter. Stir in the Old Bay Seasoning and the lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix the ketchup with the prepared horseradish. Serve the flavored butter and cocktail sauce alongside the crab.

COLD CRACKED DUNGENESS CRAB WITH CRAB TOASTS RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the crab in a large pot and cover with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes. Drain the crab and rinse under cold running water. Refrigerate until almost ready to serve, about 1 hour. About 30 minutes before serving, heat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the crab from the refrigerator. Pull off the legs and claws. Crack the large sections of each using the back of a heavy knife or a nutcracker. Arrange on a platter. Lift off the top shell. Using a small spoon, scoop out all of the golden butter and any ivory fat. Set these aside in a small bowl. With your fingers, pull away the slender, finger-like gills and discard them. Also pull away the thin, hard jaws from the front of the crab and the fat "spade" from the bottom. Using a heavy chef's knife, cut the body in half lengthwise, then in half again crosswise, cutting through the leg joints to expose as much meat as possible. Add these to the platter. Spoon the crab butter and the fat into a strainer and using the back of a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula, press them through the strainer into another bowl. (Be sure to scrape the bottom of the strainer; much of the crab butter collects there.) You should get about one-quarter cup of strained crab butter. Add the mayonnaise, vinegar and salt and whisk until smooth. The mixture should be about the consistency of stirred yogurt. Taste the mixture; it should be intensely crabby and slightly sharp. If necessary, squeeze in a little lemon juice. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and spoon 2 to 3 teaspoons of this crab mixture onto the center of each baguette slice. Bake until the crab mixture is puffed and golden and the edges of the baguette are beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Arrange these crab toasts on the platter around the crab pieces or on a separate platter. Careful, they're hot. Serve immediately. This recipe yields 4 servings. Each serving: 447 calories; 1,238 mg. sodium; 68 mg. cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 62 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 3.40 grams fiber.

DUNGENESS CRAB TOASTS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl combine the crab, scallions and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt, cayenne and lemon juice.
• Toast the bread slices and spread with the crab mixture. Garnish with a small sprig of chervil and serve immediately.

CRAB TOAST

Steps:

• In a small sauce pot, brown the butter over medium heat, swirling the pot, until the butter is caramel-colored and has a nutty fragrance, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, scraping up all the milk solids from the bottom and sides of the pot while the butter is still hot, and let cool to room temperature.
• Place the egg and egg yolk, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, a healthy pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon cold water in the bowl of a food processor. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil. Once all the oil has been added, the mayonnaise should be loose yet emulsified. While the processor is still running, slowly drizzle in the brown butter and any toasted milk solids. Season to taste with salt and set aside.
• For the crab salad, gently and quickly mix crab meat, olive oil, chives, crème fraîche and remaining 1 teaspoon lemon juice together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt.
• Schmear each piece of toasted bread with the brown butter mayonnaise evenly - as we like to say, "wall to wall." Divide the crab mixture among the slices, piling it evenly on top.