Two-for-one crab - Brief Article - Recipe

Sunset, Dec, 1999 by Elaine Johnson

Take the plunge one night for a cracked-crab feast, and save the shells for a rich-flavored soup the next day

If you love crab, don't settle for market-cooked. Plunging the live crustaceans into boiling water yourself is breath-catching, to be sure, but once you've tasted incredibly sweet, succulent home-cooked meat, there will be no going back. By doing it yourself, you have total control over two quality factors: how long the crabs cook and how salty they are.

You can double the return on your labor investment by saving the shells to make an intensely flavored broth for a lively soup.

Classic Cracked Crab

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours

NOTES: Buy live crabs on the day you'll be cooking them, and keep in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped, until ready to add to boiling water. If you don't have a pan large enough, cook crabs in sequence. If any crab meat remains after the first meal, reserve for Asian asparagus and crab soup (recipe on page 162).

MAKES: 4 servings

1. Purchase 4 live Dungeness crabs (2 to 2 1/2 lb. each; see notes). Pour about 12 quarts water into a 16- to 20-quart pan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, about 45 minutes. Grasp each crab from the back, between the legs, and plunge it headfirst into water. Use tongs to immerse crabs completely. Cover pan, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

2. Drain crabs and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.

3. To clean and crack each crab, pull off the triangular flap from the belly side. Pull body away from back shell. Pour juices from back into a bowl; also scoop the soft white crab fat and yellow butter from shell into bowl. Discard stomach sack.

4. Pull off and discard red membrane and soft gills from body, and scoop yellow crab butter into bowl. Pull off bony mouth paddles and add to shells. Separately cover and chill crab butter mixture and all shells.

5. Rinse crab bodies under cool running water. With a nutcracker or mallet, crack the shell of each leg and claw section, hitting on the narrow edges. With a knife, cut bodies into quarters.

6. Serve crabs warm or cool, plain or with deviled garlic butter (recipe on page 162) for dipping. Use the leg tips to extract meat from shells. Save shells for crab broth (recipe on page 162); cover and chill.

Per serving without butter: 187 cal., 10% (19 cal.) from fat; 38 g protein; 2.1 g fat (0.3 g sat.); 1.6 g carbo (0 g fiber); 641 mg sodium; 128 mg chol.

Deviled garlic butter. In a 1- to 2-quart pan over low heat, frequently stir 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne until garlic is limp, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice. Serve warm. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Per tablespoon: 72 cal., 96% (69 cal.) from fat; 0.2 g protein; 7.7 g fat (4.8 g sat.); 0.9 g carbo (0 g fiber); 79 mg sodium; 21 mg chol.

Crab Broth

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours

MAKES: About 2 quarts

Shells from 4 cooked Dungeness crabs (reserved from classic cracked crab, page 160)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 quart chopped onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

Crab fat, crab butter, and juices (reserved from classic cracked crab, preceding)

2 quarts fat-skimmed chicken broth

2 cups dry white wine

1. With a mallet, break crab back shells into 2-inch pieces.

2. Put all of the crab shells into an 8- to 10-quart pan; add oil. Stir frequently over medium-high heat until shell edges begin to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Add onions, garlic, and peppercorns; stir often over medium heat until onions are limp, about 10 minutes.

4. Stir in crab fat, crab butter, and juices, broth, and wine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 2 quarts, about 1 hour.

5. Pour broth through a fine strainer set over a bowl. Discard shells and seasonings. Use broth warm or cool. If making up to 1 day ahead, chill airtight; freeze to store longer.

Per cup: 99 cal., 46% (46 cal.) from fat; 8.6 g protein; 5.1 g fat (0.7 g sat.); 4.3 g carbo (0.7 g fiber); 95 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Asian Asparagus and Crab Soup

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 25 minutes

NOTES: Susan Romaine of Santa Barbara shares this recipe. Instead of the Chinese five spice, you can use equal parts ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, and anise seed - 1/4 teaspoon total. To break rice sticks into bite-size lengths, place in a plastic food bag.

MAKES: About 3 quarts; 6 servings

2 quarts crab broth (preceding)

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice (see notes)

4 ounces Chinese rice sticks (mai fun) or capellini pasta, broken into bite-size lengths

2 cups diagonally sliced 1-inch pieces asparagus

1/4 pound oyster or common mushrooms, rinsed, tough ends trimmed, and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup (6 oz.) shelled cooked crab or rinsed shelled cooked tiny shrimp

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, bring broth, ginger, oyster sauce, and five spice to a boil. Add rice sticks, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 3 minutes (1 minute for capellini).