New Jersey Style Garlic Crab Recipes

B.B.Q. GARLIC CRAB

Steps:

• Lightly cook the garlic in the olive oil in a saute pan (about 2 to3 minutes on medium-low heat). Allow to cool.
• Add the crab and toss with the salt and pepper.
• Preheat the grill to high, carefully place all the marinated crab onto the grill, allowing the oil to drip off before putting onto the grill, and cover with lid. Allow to cook about 4 to 5 minutes then turn over and allow to cook another 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove from the grill, and place into a large metal bowl. Squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the crab and toss well.
• Serve on a large platter with fresh lemon wedges and chopped Italian parsley.

SHELL LICKIN' SPICY GARLIC CRABS

Steps:

• 1. Defrost crab legs
• 2. Chop parsley and with a microplane grate garlic
• 3. With a microplane, zest the lemon
• 4. In a large heated slillet add olive oil, butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and zest. Saute for 2 minutes
• 5. Add crabs, parsley and swamp fire seasoning to crabs, cook and baste for 4-5 mintes.
• 6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place crabs in oven and bake 12-15 minutes. Baste a couple times
• 7. Remove from oven put crabs on a platter, garnish and serve

NEW JERSEY STYLE GARLIC CRAB

Steps:

• 1. Stun live blue crab by placing in ice water for 5 minutes.
• 2. Grasp crab by its legs and under top shell spine (stunned and can be handled bare handed).
• 3. Pry off the top shell using the shell's spine for leverage.
• 4. Flip crab over and remove the apron.
• 5. Using high pressure water, spray out the entrails.
• 6. Using thumb, twist off the mouth parts.
• 7. Remove spongy gills from both halves.
• 8. Cleaned and ready to cook.
• Create the crab mash, customize to your liking: Take your large pot, put about 2 inches of water in the bottom. Add olive oil. Add freshly minced garlic. Add season-all salt, ground red pepper, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper. Mix well, then warm.
• Take the cleaned crabs and dip them in the mash and set aside. Sprinkle crabs with coarse garlic with parsley, also add some ground red pepper and any other ingredients you like. (Williecrab recommends adding some Italian bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, and grated Romano cheese to the water and sprinkled directly on the crabs before cooking them. The cheeses melt on the bodies and the spicy bread crumbs puff up and splatter on the crabs in the steam.)
• Cover pot and bring the mash to a hard boil. With the mash boiling, lift the lid and dump in about 15 to 20 cleaned crabs (depending on the size of your pot). Put the lid on and oil-steam them for 12 minutes. Make sure there is plenty of room in the pot for the steam to circulate little drops of olive oil on the seasoned bodies of the crabs.
• After 12 minutes the claws and legs should turn bright orange. Remove crabs and test a claw. If the meat slides out and is juicy, you got it! If the meat is stuck in the claw, you are cooking them a little too long. If you do not like the crabs getting mushy on the bottom, put a platform at the bottom to keep the crabs out of the mash.
• If you really like garlic, put some freshly minced garlic right in the bodies before you steam. If you've got time, try pre-cracking the claws before steaming. If you do it right, you won't need a wooden hammer to break open the claws. The trick is to cook the crabs so that the spices "melt" into the meat and the bodies of the crabs have an olive oil sheen on them. When the crabs come out of the pot, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan and Romano cheese, with just a tad of butter, which melts into the meat making an incredible.

FAMOUS ROAST GARLIC CRAB

Steps:

• Cleaning dungeness crab:
• Holding the body backside up, place your right thumb in the joint between the upper and lower shell on the side opposite the mouth. Your palm will be stretched across the top of the shell. Hold the bottom of the crab in your opposite hand. Force your thumb in and pull up and back to your right until shell snaps off. Pour any juices in the shell into a small bowl. Cut the body into quarters with a large knife. Twist the legs off the body. Crack lightly in several places with a nutcracker and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a very large ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. (You may need 2 pans.) Add the crab and garlic, and toss well. Saute for about 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and mix in lemon juice. Saute for another 5 minutes, then add parsley. After another 1 or 2 minutes, remove the crab and serve in the newspaper lined cans.

GARLIC CRAB

Steps:

• Place garlic, onions, butter, salt, red and black pepper into a roasting pan and put into a 450 degree oven.
• Be sure to watch carefully and cook until onions and garlic turn golden brown.
• Remove from oven, add crab and blend thoroughly.
• Make sure the crab (shells and all) is coated.
• Place pan back into oven on 475 degree for 15-20 minutes, turning crab about every 5 minutes.
• After the crab has been heated throughout remove from oven.
• Garlic sauce should be braised onto the shell of the crab.
• Serve as soon as possible, sprinkled with parsley and garnished with lemon.

JERSEY SHORE GARLIC CRABS

Steps:

• Clean crabs by covering them with slightly hot water.
• Leave 5 minutes to anestheize crabs.
• Remove back shell,lungs and rinse.
• In a large spagehetti pot add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/3 garlic.Saute 1 minute on low.
• Add 6 crabs and 1 teaspoon oregano.Saute 1 minute ,toss and add 1/3 can tomatoes.
• Repeat this process another 2 times until all crabs are added.
• Add wine or clam broth.
• Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes.
• Remove crabs to platter.
• Squeeze lemon and add to pot along with remaining oregano.
• Pour sauce over crabs on platter.
• Serve with linguine.

EASY AïOLI

Steps:

• Mash garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small bowl until paste forms. Whisk in mayonnaise, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.