The Barney Family
WHOLE CRAB RECIPES
The Barney Family
WHOLE CRAB RECIPES
The meat from this beautiful blue-clawed swimming crab is known for its delicious flavor and delicate texture. Two succulent lumps of crab meat at the base of the swimming legs are the prized Backfin meat. With care and skill, these lumps are removed whole as Imperial or Jumbo Lump crab meat. There are three grades and each grade has a distinctive flavor, texture, and appearance.
The three types of Crabmeat are known as;
Lump crab meat is the largest pieces of meat from the body and also the most expensive form of crabmeat. For overall elegance and visual appeal, Imperial Lump is incomparable.
Backfin crab meat is the pale ivory flakes of white body meat and is subtle in flavor. Backfin is used for crab cakes, soups, casseroles, and crab imperial. Backfin Lump offers equally superb crab meat in smaller pieces for greater versatility.
Claw and leg crab meat have a darker, reddish color and is more flavorful. It is best for soups, pastas, and dips. It is the least expensive type of crab meat and is a favorite of many chefs as it stands up to bold seasonings like garlic and cayenne that would overpower the tender succulent lump grades.
Anyone who has tried picking blue crabs knows the difficulty of removing the crab meat, but a good recipe makes a good meal and it all becomes well worth the effort.
Assembled below are the basic recipes for cooking fresh crabs, steamed or boiled. Use these recipes to cook crabs for eating from the pot or to extract meat for other recipes. I prefer to tear top half of crab off and rinse well before cooking. This allows a cleaner eating product for the dinner table.
| STEAMED
CRABS
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| water
2 1/2 tablespoons OLDBAY seasoning |
cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt |
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Pot should have raised rack, minimum 2" high. Add equal quantities water and vinegar to just below level of rack. Layer crabs; sprinkle each layer with mixture of OLD BAY SEASONING and salt. Cover and steam until crabs are red. |
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| BOILED
CRABS
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| 3 quarts water
1 OLDBAY Crab Boil spice bag |
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons salt |
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Fill a large pot with 3 quarts water, vinegar, spice bag, and 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil. Add blue claw crabs. Bring back to a boil, cover 20 minutes or until crabs turn red. Remove and drain. To enhance flavor omit vinegar and add large pieces of celery, onion, and lemon to boiling water before adding crabs. If spice bags are not available substitute 3 tablespoons OLDBAY seasoning and 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper. |
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| SOFT
SHELLED CRABS
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| egg lightly beaten | crushed cracker crumbs | |
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Live soft-shelled crabs are killed at cleaning. It may seem unpleasant, but the quickest way to do this is by sticking the point of a knife or an ice pick between the eyes. If you bought your soft-shell crabs frozen, let them thaw a bit before cleaning. Lay the soft-shelled crab on its back and remove the apron. Turn the crab over, lift up the pointed ends (spikes) and remove the six gills on each side. Then replace each point to its original position. With scissors, cut off the mouth, eyes and feelers. Wash the crab thoroughly, even under the spikes. Dip the crab in egg and cracker meal and fry, deep-fry or broil for ten minutes, aprox five minutes on each side and season to taste with salt, pepper, and a shake of OLDBAY seasoning. |
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| NEW JERSEY CRAB BOIL
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| 3 lemons, quartered
12 new red potatoes 6 small ears fresh corn 6 small yellow onions 6 medium carrots 1/4 Cup OLDBAY seasoning |
1 tablespoon crished red pepper
1 tablespoon ground white pepper 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 12 live blue crabs 1/2 cup salt 1 cup white wine |
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Fill a large 10-quart stockpot one-third full with water. Add wine, OLDBAY seasoning, salt, peppers and the lemons, bring to boil. Then add potatoes, corn, onions, and carrots, cover and let boil for 10 minutes. Add the crabs, cover, and return to boil. Once steam starts to escape from under the cover, lower to medium let cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes more. |
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Below are links to other
recipe pages for many tasty items made with blue claw crab meat. Click on the link to go to that page.
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Life Cycle | Identification | Catching
Tides & Weather | NJ Crabbing Laws
Recipes
