THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 1996 TAG: 9609030164
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: 66 lines
When it comes to epicurean delights (read, good eating), the Chesapeake Bay blue crab can hold its own with lobster, filet mignon, prime rib and other exotic dishes.
Most crabs caught by recreational fishermen, in Virginia and elsewhere, undoubtedly end up steamed and on a table.
Call it a crab feast. Call it a crab pick. Call it whatever, but call it good.
The problem, at least for most folks, is that picking the meat out of steamed crabs calls for patience. And if you're going to get all the meat, it also calls for some special skills.
We won't get into that. The how-to of picking crabs is, perhaps, best left to another day.
There are two ways, however, to approach the consumption of crabmeat:
1. Pick-and-eat. Just eat the meat as you pick it out, the method preferred by most. You can spice things up with a bit of cocktail or tartar sauce or drawn butter. Some folks even dip in vinegar. I'll take mine sans condiments, thank you very much.
2. Pick-and-then-eat. The same condiments will work.
These are but two methods of eating crab meat. It can also be made into various dishes, such as crab salad, crab imperial, crab cakes, crab casserole or crab-in-butter.
Here are a few recipes: (They also work with over-the-counter crab meat, which is lumped into four categories: claw, the least expensive; special, the entire crab; backfin; and lump backfin, the most expensive.):
Steamed crabs: Pour about a quart of water into a large pot, add some seasoning, such as Old Bay, and bring to a boil. Wash the crabs and dump them into the pot. Sprinkle liberally with more seasoning. Cook only until all the crabs have turned red. Do not overcook. Spread on a covered table and eat.
Mary Barnes' Eastern Shore crab cakes: Mix a pound of crab meat (backfin or lump backfin preferred) with two heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise and one heaping teaspoon of mustard. Form into balls and flatten into six to eight cakes, between three and four inches in diameter.
Coat with plain bread crumbs but do not add any crumbs, bread or other filling to the cakes. Fry either in deep cooking oil or enough oil to cover half the cakes. Cook only until golden brown, since the crab already has been steamed.
Stuffed mushrooms: For a special treat, buy some big mushrooms, wash them well, remove the stems and stuff them with the unbaked crab imperial. Then bake or broil. Baking takes no more than 15 minutes. Probably 10 will do it, even less if you're broiling.
Stuffed flounder: For a real treat, remove the head, tail and backbone of a flounder, going in through the dark side, and stuff with uncooked crab imperial. Again, bake no more than 20 minutes. MEMO: From page C1:
EATIN' 'EM
Ann Scott's Eastern Shore Crab Imperial: Finely chop two tablespoons
of green pepper and saute for about a minute in two tablespoons of
butter. Mix a half-cup of evaporated milk with a half-cup of mayonnaise
and two tablespoons of flour. Add that to green pepper and cook together
for not more than a minute.
In a separate baking dish, fold in a pound of lump backfin crab meat.
Sprinkle liberally with paprika. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until
crab meat starts to brown a bit. Better to cook it too little than too
much.
KEYWORDS: SIDEBAR TO MAIN STORY ON PAGE C1. by CNB