What To Do With A Pound Of Crabmeat. Lots Of Things!

 

Crabilicious Offerings For Your Dining Pleasure

 

 

Callinectus sapidus, or “beautiful savory swimmer,” is in season now. That would be the blue crab to you and me.  And I’m taking full advantage of this delectable crustacean. A couple months ago, I wrote about the soft shells; this month I’m turning my attention towards the hard shells.  I’ll be making a basic crabmeat dip and offering a few tangents for you to explore for an array of tantalizing appetizers. In addition, I have another crabmeat mixture which will go into fried crab balls.

I’m starting off with a pound of claw meat.  If you’re not picking your own crabs, I recommend choosing the claw meat.  It’s not as expensive as lump or backfin and it features a richer flavor which holds up very well in sauced dishes and dips.  Half the crabmeat is going into a basic dip that will produce a medley of appetizers; the other half-pound will be going into fried crab balls.

I’m giving you five suggestions for using the basic dip, but feel free to use your own imagination and get creative.

 

Rosie’s Crabmeat Dip

 2 oz. unsalted butter

 2 oz. cream cheese

 2 oz. brie cheese

 8 oz. crabmeat  (As I said, I use claw meat.  It’s less expensive than the jumbo lump, the taste is a bit more robust, and you still have good-sized chunks throughout.)

 Juice of 1 lemon

 1 TB sherry or white wine (optional)

Melt, butter, cream cheese, and brie over low heat.  I don’t bother to remove the rind from the brie; go ahead and melt that too.  Whisk until smooth, then stir in juice of one lemon.  Gently fold crab meat into cream mixture, trying not to break up the meat.  Heat through.  Stir in the optional splash of sherry or wine. 

 

For the simplest appetizers, simply top a cracker with the dip.  Ritz and Triscuits are my personal favorites, but you do you.  Optional add-ons could be sliced green onions, minced green, yellow, orange, and/or red peppers, chopped parsley, and sprinklings of Old Bay seasoning and/or cayenne pepper.

 

 

Now let’s explore a few options for additional presentations of the crab dip.

 

 

Crabmeat-Filled Wonton Cups

Take individual wonton wrappers and press into muffin tins.  Lightly brush with butter and bake at 350° for about 8 minutes, or until golden.  Fill with warm crabmeat mixture.  Top with sliced scallions and minced roasted red peppers.

 

 

 

Crabmeat-Filled Phyllo Shells

Place phyllo shells on a baking sheet and bake at 350° about 5 minutes or until golden brown.  Fill with crabmeat mixture and sprinkle sliced scallions and chopped parsley over top.

 

 

Next, I’ll be stuffing mushrooms with the crab dip, adding some grated Parmesan cheese, and then running them under the broiler.  Perfect for an appetizer or a side dish to accompany a seafood meal.

 

Crab-Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Rosie’s Crab Meat Dip

1 package of mushrooms, stems removed ( You can use button mushrooms, bellas, shiitakes, creminis – whatever has a bowl-like cap for stuffing.)

 1 garlic clove, minced

 Sherry, splash or two

 Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

 Bread crumbs and/or crumbled Ritz crackers

 

In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat about a tablespoon of oil to around 350° then add in a pat of butter.  When the butter melts, place in the mushrooms, facing down so the caps can release their moisture and not collect it inside the caps.  After a few minutes, turn the caps over, add in the garlic, and let mushrooms get golden brown on the cap-side, just another minute or so.  Add in the splash or two of sherry, stirring, and let it sizzle, steam, and reduce a bit.

Place mushroom caps in a foil-lined pan, pouring any remaining sherry around the caps.  Spoon the crab meat mixture into the caps, rounding the mixture.  Sprinkle grated cheese and bread crumbs and/or Ritz crackers over top and place pan under broiler for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden brown. 

 

  I like to sprinkle some sliced green onions, minced peppers, and chopped parsley over top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another favorite crab preparation is fried crabmeat-filled wontons.

 

 

Lay a wonton wrapper on your work surface and place a heaping teaspoonful of the crabmeat mixture in the center, being careful not to overfill.  Brush the edges with soy or tamari sauce, fold the wonton over to form a triangle, and press the edges with a fork to crimp and seal.  Fry the stuffed wontons at 350° for a minute or so on each side until golden brown.  Drain on a rack.  Sprinkle with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce.

 

Dipping sauce for Crab Wontons:

¼ cup tamari or soy sauce

 2 TB mirin

 2 TB rice vinegar

 1 tsp sugar

 1 tsp sriracha sauce

 1 minced garlic clove

 Juice from 1-inch knob of frozen ginger (See Rosie Note below for ginger juice instructions.)

 1 TB toasted sesame seeds

 Mix all ingredients.

 Rosie Note:  For ginger juice, know that you simply can’t get juice out of fresh ginger root.  Whenever I buy ginger root, I cut it into 1-inch cubes, then bag and freeze it.  This way I always have ginger on hand, plus, as an added bonus, I can get ginger juice from frozen ginger.  Simply place a ginger cube in a small bowl and nuke it for about 20-25 seconds.  Squeeze with your fingers; the juice comes out readily.  If you like, you can take the juiced chunk and run it through a garlic press, scraping the extruded pulp off with a knife and adding it to the mix for more intense ginger flavor.

 

My final offering is Fried Crab Balls with two dipping sauces – a more conventional Tartar Sauce and a savory Asian Sauce.  Take your pick or use both.  

 

Rosie’s Crab Balls

(Makes 15.)

8 oz. crab meat

 1 TB minced red onion

 1 TB minced red pepper

 1 TB minced celery

 1 TB chopped parsley

 2 TB lemon juice

 1 egg, beaten

 ½ tsp kosher salt

 ¼ cup crushed Ritz crackers (about 6 crackers)

Add all ingredients to crab meat, folding in gently so as not to break up any large lumps.  Roll into balls.   Place on parchment-lined tray, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

 When ready to fry, roll balls in a mixture of:

 1 cup bread crumbs

 2 TB cornstarch

 Place balls in hot oil (350° - 375°) and fry, turning when brown, after about 1 ½ - 2 minutes.  Don’t crowd the pan.  Fry in batches.  About 3-4 minutes each batch.  Drain on rack.

       Serve with either Tartar Sauce or my Asian-Inspired Sauce.  Or both.

 Rosie’s Tartar Sauce

 ¼ cup mayonnaise

 1 TB coarse grained mustard

 1 TB minced red onion

 1 TB minced celery

 1 TB sweet relish

 1 tsp capers

 Mix all until well-blended.

 

 Rosie’s Asian-Inspired Sauce

 1 TB ginger juice

 1 garlic clove, minced

 2 TB Tamari sauce

 1 TB mirin

Combine all.

 

 

 

Here’s another thought:

As I was making the Asian Sauce, I noticed my pot of Thai basil sitting pretty on the deck, so I picked a few leaves and added that too.  Regular basil would have been good, but Thai basil has a different flavor profile than its Italian counterpart.  While Italian basil is sweeter, more black peppery and clove-like, Thai basil is spicier, more robust, and more licorice-y or anise-like.  Thai basil ups your game a bit.  Try it.

 

Happy Crab Season and enjoy.