# How do you eat your crab?



## Hades (Sep 20, 2006)

Discovery Channel is doing a re-run of their series "deadliest catch". For those who haven't seen it yet: it's a kind of reality soap about king crab fishers.
Needless to say I'm devoloping a craving for crab. My favourite way of having crab is crab cocktail. A can of king crab (fresh is almost impossible to get here) mixed with a hard boiled egg (finely cut), a few tbspoons of home made mayo, a sqeeze of ketchup, a few drops of worchestshire sauce, a little white pepper and some freshly chopped parsley.
But how do you like your crab (if you like it at all)?


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## wasabi (Sep 20, 2006)

Steamed and dipped in clarified butter.


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## Chopstix (Sep 20, 2006)

The 3 all-time best crab dishes I swear by are:

1.  Baked in garlic, pepper, butter and lemon (from a Spanish bistro in Manila)
2.  Black pepper crab (in Singapore)
3.  Chili crab (in Singapore)

The last two are cooked with crabs imported from Sri Lanka (Ceylon).  I've never cooked these dishes myself.   I have found some recipes but I don't think they'll be as good as eating them there.


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## youngchefpat (Sep 20, 2006)

as of recently i enjoy crab cakes with a roasted red pepper remoulade sauce.  its pretty traditional but not to be forgotton.


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 20, 2006)

I am ashamed to say I rarely get a chance to enjoy a real crab (I mean fresh).  I haven't had one for a long time, as neither Cris or I are sure how to prepare them correctly, removing the shell etc. 

We do occasionally use the ones in a tin, and make a nice salad with avocado, tossed with a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream, squeeze of  lemon juice, a little chive and a dash of white pepper.

It makes a nice savoury crepe filling, too, with a wine cream sauce with lots of flat leaved parsley.


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## LesleyP (Sep 20, 2006)

I'm lucky enough to live by the Sea so we often eat fresh crab and for me by far the best way is to simply boil it and then eat with nice fresh salad leaves and home cooked granary bread spread with real butter.


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## pdswife (Sep 20, 2006)

As fast as I can so I get more than anyone else.


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## urmaniac13 (Sep 20, 2006)

pdswife said:
			
		

> As fast as I can so I get more than anyone else.


 
When I get to enjoy a fresh crab next time, this will surely be the way to go for me too


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## kitchenelf (Sep 20, 2006)

I like to eat mine steamed with butter, lemon, and reckless abandon.

When I want to do crabcakes I also make mine with a pureed roasted red pepper coulis - there is also some of that in the crabcake recipe.  YUM!!!  This is my second favorite way as it is mostly crab, not filler.


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## Toots (Sep 20, 2006)

I'd love to know a good crab cake recipe - yum!

Crab is expensive around here, like $30/lb.


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## GB (Sep 20, 2006)

I do not get crab often at all, but my most memorable experience was sitting at a large table with a mallet. I would crack those suckers open and pinch out the little bit of amazing meat. I sat at that table for 3 hours eating non stop. I only stopped because everyone else I was with must have been getting tired of sitting there (even though they say they were not). I could have stayed all night.


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## Gretchen (Sep 20, 2006)

Blue crabs--steamed and picked dipped in butter.
Crab cakes.

A good place to buy crab in the East is Costco or Sam's. Get lump crab as the first quality or backfin as second. Claw crabmeat is for soups or gumbo.  It is fairly seasonal in price but lump is usually about $15/lb. at these places. It is "canned" pasteurized, about the only way you can get it. 
DO NOT waste money on canned crab sold on the tuna aisle.


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## kitchenelf (Sep 20, 2006)

GB said:
			
		

> I do not get crab often at all, but my most memorable experience was sitting at a large table with a mallet. I would crack those suckers open and pinch out the little bit of amazing meat. I sat at that table for 3 hours eating non stop. I only stopped because everyone else I was with must have been getting tired of sitting there (even though they say they were not). I could have stayed all night.



GB - when we go to Charleston we get bowls and bowls of garlic blue crabs!!!!  ...but they MUST be eaten while drinking a pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea


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## GB (Sep 20, 2006)

Kitchenelf, you know how to live!


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## mish (Sep 20, 2006)

Hades said:
			
		

> Discovery Channel is doing a re-run of their series "deadliest catch". For those who haven't seen it yet: it's a kind of reality soap about king crab fishers.
> Needless to say I'm devoloping a craving for crab. My favourite way of having crab is crab cocktail. A can of king crab (fresh is almost impossible to get here) mixed with a hard boiled egg (finely cut), a few tbspoons of home made mayo, a sqeeze of ketchup, a few drops of worchestshire sauce, a little white pepper and some freshly chopped parsley.
> But how do you like your crab (if you like it at all)?


 
Hades, I get Discovery, and will keep an eye out for the segment, as I adore crab, and most any seafood. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. 

One of my all-time favorites -- crab cakes. Crab or most any seafood in a pasta or salad dish, makes my day - or crab salad stuffed in an avacado or tomato. I could go on and on about the dishes I enjoy that include crab - but one thing I am puzzled about is soft shell crab -- re how to cook and eat it. Pardon a silly question, but re soft shell crabs - do you actually eat the shell, and why are they called soft shell? TIA


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## TATTRAT (Sep 20, 2006)

There is nothing finer then covering the outdoor table in news papper, getting a bushell of crabs and ALOT of ice cold beer, and going crazy for a while.

As far as snowcrab goes, butter and lemon. I keep it simple.


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## VegasDramaQueen (Sep 20, 2006)

_When it comes to steak or crab and lobster, I'm a purist. I want nothing to interfer with the great flavor of crab dipped in butter with a squeeze of lemon juice. Wow, fortunately, in Vegas we get a lot of crab so my appetite for it is always satisfied.  I don't eat snow crab.  Not enough meat for my taste.  I live on Dungeness and King Crab legs.  YUUUUMMMM>_

_The Discovery channel's Deadliest Catch is a series not a segment and it is fascinating. You will gain a respect and appreciation for crab fisherman and what they go through. You will also learn some little known facts and information about crabs and crab fishing. I loved the series, so don't miss it._


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## ChefJune (Sep 20, 2006)

> I like to eat mine steamed with butter, lemon, and reckless abandon.


I like your style, Kitchenelf!  That's my preference for my favorite, Dungeness crab, and also the yummy Maryland blue crab.  with a glass of delicious Chardonnay... as good a one as I can afford at the time!

I also love soft shell crabs in season, and those I adore lightly breaded and pan fried.  Ping's in NYC Chinatown does them to perfection! I can make a fool of myself over those.


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## ChefJune (Sep 20, 2006)

> do you actually eat the shell, and why are they called soft shell? TIA


Yes, Mish, you do eat the shell. It is soft enough, but cooks up crunchy. There's a little flap on the underside that you have to lift and clean out the gills and other yutz, and then the whole thing is edible.

They are called soft-shells because they have molted and shed the hard shell they wear for most of the year. Soft-shells season really is from late May through June. Having worked for years in the food business, I know that altho many restaurants sell them later, they've been frozen. Fresh is always better in this case, imo.  

Hope that helps!


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## gemgirlco.com (Sep 20, 2006)

I use to live on the coast of Georgia, where I could just go up to the boats and get freshly caught crabs (blue crabs) for very inexpensive. I don't live on the coast anymore, and miss those days.


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## Robo410 (Sep 20, 2006)

Maryland is for Crabs!  hot steamed with Old Bay and cold beer...no fuss just au natural


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## goboenomo (Sep 20, 2006)

When I eat crab I poke a hole in it with my fork and then tear it from the inside with my fork. It's easier than the crackers IMO.


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## mugsy27 (Sep 20, 2006)

Robo410 said:
			
		

> Maryland is for Crabs!  hot steamed with Old Bay and cold beer...no fuss just au natural


as a marylander who lives about 10 minutes from the  chesapeake bay (im near sandy point)...u nailed it spot on!!

steamed with lotsa old bay..and ice cold yuengling beer on a hot (humid) august evening in maryland!!!


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## mudbug (Sep 20, 2006)

mugsy27 said:
			
		

> as a marylander who lives about 10 minutes from the chesapeake bay (im near sandy point)...u nailed it spot on!!
> 
> steamed with lotsa old bay..and ice cold yuengling beer on a hot (humid) august evening in maryland!!!


 
another near-neighbor chiming in.  Amen, mugsy, especially if eaten with a lot of crazy fun people living in St. Mary's County.


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## Teleri (Sep 20, 2006)

Robo410 said:
			
		

> Maryland is for Crabs! hot steamed with Old Bay and cold beer...no fuss just au natural


 
I've got to agree with Robo. If when you've finished eating, your fingers, your beer glass and your mallet aren't covered with Old Bay, you haven't really had good crabs.


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## BreezyCooking (Sep 20, 2006)

I can't remember the last time I had Snow or Alaskan King Crab legs, but hailing from Long Island, NY, the good old Blue Claw is my hands down favorite, served as others have posted - hot & spicy with Old Bay Seasoning & served with melted lemon butter & lots of ice cold beer.

Some of the best childhood memories I have are being awakened at 4:30 in the morning, bustled into the car along with grandparents, great aunts & uncles, & heading for one of the "secret crabbing spots" - lol!!!  With crabtraps, lines, & raw squid, fish, or chicken pieces, we'd fill our wooden bushel baskets & then return home for a real feast.

I also LOVE softshells, & luckily a terrific little gourmet/organic market nearby gets them both huge & LIVE, for a few weeks during the spring season.  They are FABULOUS!!  My favorite way to make them is to clean them, dredge them in some seasoned flour, & saute them in a half-&-half mixture of butter & extra-virgin olive oil for about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Some time during the last few minutes of cooking I add some fresh lemon juice &/or a splash of white wine to the pan, along with one or two cloves of chopped garlic.  Ambrosia.


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## Buck (Sep 20, 2006)

Hey, you guys, stop making a fella miserable.  I moved to western Kentucky from Maryland ten years ago.  They gots lotsa good stuff here but the don't gots blue crabs.  If you have any compassion at all, overnight me a bushel and I'll crawl through broken glass for you.  I remember steaming up a bushel on Sunday night and pigging out.  Monday was leftovers night.  I saved all the claws from Sunday and had them cold with cocktail sauce while watching Monday Night Football.  Having the crab claws was the only way I could stand listening to Howard Cosell.  On second thought, the beer helped too.
Best wishes,
Buck


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## amber (Sep 20, 2006)

I've never had crab straight from the shells, just from containers in our local fish department.  I really like crab cakes with a tomatoes and corn salsa, though I'm certain I would love it fresh with butter.


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## mugsy27 (Sep 20, 2006)

Teleri said:
			
		

> If when you've finished eating, your fingers, your beer glass and your mallet aren't covered with Old Bay *and some Finger Blood*, you haven't really had good crabs.



there...fixed that for ya!


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## Constance (Sep 20, 2006)

TATTRAT said:
			
		

> There is nothing finer then covering the outdoor table in news papper, getting a bushell of crabs and ALOT of ice cold beer, and going crazy for a while.
> 
> As far as snowcrab goes, butter and lemon. I keep it simple.



You've got that right, TATTRAT! I've eaten crab all kinds of ways, and always loved it, but the best was when my first husband and I were guests of a local doctor, there in Baton Rouge. My ex was a high school football coach, and the doctor was a big supporter of the team.
We dined at the traditional newspaper-covered table, but it was set up in the great room, where we had air-conditioning. The crabs they served were local...I think probably dungeness crabs...and fortunately, I had lived in the area long enough that I knew how to eat them. You have to stick your fingers in the right spot in the middle, and break the crab apart. After enjoying all the succulant meat there, you use the nutcrackers provided, and break into the claws, gently teasing out the meat there.
We had good French bread to dip in the juices, corn on the cob, and lots of cold beer to go with.
What a night! I ate until I couldn't eat any more.


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## Rom (Oct 17, 2007)

My parents used to catch crabs all the time, (i literally grew up eat crabs) so much so the freezers were full! (yes there is an S on freezers) there were so many. The best 2 ways i like crab 1) simply boil with salt...the flavour is like YUMMMM or 2) my mum used to make a sauce out of the whole crabs and have spaghetti with it, saucy crabs and crab pasta OHHH man YUMMMMM. I like the, i guess u could call it the eggs in the shell - they are hard and orange? (not the spongy ones that are on the flap thingy) that was nice to eat too 
its been MANY years since my parents caught crabs though...last time i had it was last year and i bought it from an overpriced fish market (my mum has never bought crabs in her life LOL thats how many my parents used to catch hehehe)


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