| i don't have personal experience with these, in fact i've never been to
the west coast but i do have a book here that has a recipe for the
exact things you are asking about. this might not help either but i'll
copy what the book says about them. it sounds just like the way you do
lobster.
umberto's dungeness crab
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(i think i'll post the recipe too, just in case someone wants it)
8 crabs in shells (preferably fresh)
1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed
2 teaspoinss butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/8 teaspoon freshly greated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper
8 think lemon wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine (preferably frascati or other italian wine)
(no i did not make that up about the italian wine, evidently they just
know their stuff) (smile)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup b'echamel sauce
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
if using fresh carbs, drop head first into a large amount of rapidly
boiling salted water over high heat. return water to boil. cook crabs
until very tip of leg pulls off easily without meat, about 15 minutes.
let stand under cold runnign water until enough to handle. carefully
remove meat from shells, cut into chunks and set aside. wash shells
and legs thoroughly.
cook spinach in rapidly boiling water until just blanched, about 3
minutes. drain well and pat dry with paper towels. chop spinach
coarsely. melt 1 teaspoon butter in medium skillet over medium heat.
add spinach and saute briefly. stir in onion, garlic, nutmeg, salt and
pepper. add four lemon wedges and cook 5 minutes longer. discard
lemon.
preheat over to 450oF. divide spinach mixutre amoung four shells
spreading evenly to form a bed. metl remaining butter in large skillet
over medium heat. add crab and saute' briefly. sitre in wine and
parsley, mixing well. arrange crab mixture over spinach. top each
with 1 tablespoon b'echamel. spirnkler parmesan over. bake until tops
are crisp and golden, 7 to 10 minutes.
just before serving, top each crab with extra shell. arrange legs
around shell to resemble crab and garnish with the remaining lemon
wedges.
i know that this really isn't what you are looking for but hopefully it
helps alittle. i thought that adding a recipe for the dungeness crab
would be helpful also for directory purposes.
please let us know how you did and if you made this, it looks pretty
good.
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| Generally, you don't buy them uncooked, but if you do just boil
them in water as you would a lobster. I prefer them cold with a
loaf of sourdough/french bread, some good chees, and a bottle of
white wine. You'll find they are more delicate tasting than a lobster
and don't require a hammer and tong to break them apart. Bon Appetite.
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| re: .1, .2 Thanks for the replies.
The section of the recipe in .1 about boiling them is exactly what
I wanted. I haven't tried cooking them myself yet, but I plan to
before the season is over.
I'm quite familiar with the pre-cooked crabs, but I've never had a
freshly cooked crab, so I'm interested in finding out if its worth the
difference. I'll report back here when I find out. Oh, .2, you
described the way I like my crab best, but I still need a nutcracker to
get the meat out.
Tony
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