James Beard's New Fish Cookery (39 page)

CRABMEAT COCKTAIL OR CRABMEAT AS A FIRST COURSE

Most restaurants insist on smothering crab with a hot tomato sauce that kills its elegant flavor. If more of them would only learn to send you a choice of different sauces for crabmeat, I’m sure the dining-out public would be pleased. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Serve fine lump or leg crabmeat on a bed of watercress or romaine. Top with a sauce rémoulade (page 35).

2. Arrange crabmeat on a bed of shredded Boston or leaf lettuce and serve with a Russian dressing. Garnish with hard-cooked egg slices.

3. Serve large lump crabmeat — or the choicest Dungeness crab legs — garnished with paper-thin slices of peeled tomato and very thinly sliced onions. Pass a bowl of well-flavored olive oil mayonnaise and capers.

CRAB LEGS PALACE COURT

This is one of the most famous first course specialties in the country. It has been one of the outstanding dishes at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco for generations. It was a favorite at the old Wednesday luncheons and is truly an American classic.

Start with a bed of shredded lettuce — preferably leaf or Boston lettuce. Then add a large artichoke heart filled with salade Russe (a mixture of cooked tiny peas, finely diced cooked carrot, finely cut cooked snap beans, and diced cooked potatoes bound together with mayonnaise). Arrange 5 or 6 large crab legs on the salade Russe and top with a Thousand Island dressing or a Russian dressing. Surround the base of the artichoke with finely chopped hard-cooked egg and garnish with strips of green pepper or pimiento.

CRAB LOUIS

This is another dish that comes from the Pacific Coast. The late Helen Evans Brown said it was served at Solari’s in San Francisco in 1914. If I’m not mistaken, the father of the late West Coast writer Richard L. Neuberger served it in his Bohemian Restaurant in Portland. Oregon, at that time, too. At any rate, the old Bohemian served the finest. Louis I have ever eaten.

It is very easy to make this superb dish. Begin with a bed of finely shredded lettuce. Heap plenty of crabmeat on top and garnish with quartered hard-cooked eggs and quartered tomatoes. Pour a Louis dressing (page 36) over all.

AVOCADO STUFFED WITH CRABMEAT

This is a very popular first course in Florida and in the West. My favorite sauce for this is made with 1/2 cup good mayonnaise, 1/2 cup stiffly whipped cream, 1/3 cup chili sauce, and 1 tablespoon grated onion. Mix the sauce with the crabmeat and stuff the avocado.

SAUTÉED CRAB WITH ALMONDS

7 tablespoons butter

1 pound crabmeat

2/3 cup almonds, blanched and split in half

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add the crabmeat, and toss lightly until it is delicately browned. While this is cooking, sauté the almonds in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter over a rather brisk flame until they brown lightly. Salt and pepper to taste and add to the crabmeat. Finally add the cream and parsley, increase the heat, and let it cook up and boil for 2 minutes. Serve on rice or rounds of fried toast.

VARIATIONS

1. Add 3 tablespoons sherry just before serving.

2. Omit the almonds and add 3 tablespoons chives or finely chopped green onion. Cook these with the crab and then add 3 tablespoons tomato sauce or chili sauce to the pan before adding the cream.

3. Add 1/2 cup cream and 1 tablespoon curry powder to the crabmeat and serve on rice with crisp French-fried onions.

4. Combine the crab with 1/2 pound mushrooms that have been sautéed in 6 tablespoons butter and flavored with lemon juice. Add 1/3 cup cream and let it cook down for 3 or 4 minutes.

5. This variation is called
Crabmeat Marseillaise
. To the sautéed crabmeat add an equal amount of mussels that have been opened (see mussels, page 416) and removed from their shells. Add 1 cup of heavy cream and let it cook down slightly.

POLLY HAMBLET’S DEVILED CRAB (DEVILED CRAB I)

This is the recipe for the deviled crab that I ate as a child. It was the first one I ever tasted and has been my favorite ever since. Originally I had it made with Dungeness crab, but many times since I have had it made with blue crabs and even with king crab. It never fails to please me.

1 pound crabmeat

11/2 cups rolled cracker crumbs

3/4 cup finely diced celery

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

Few grains cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped green pepper

Combine the crabmeat with the crumbs, celery, and onion and moisten with the butter and milk. Season with the mustard, salt, cayenne, parsley, and green pepper. Mix thoroughly, pile into shells or a casserole, and bake in a 350° oven for about 1/2 hour.

DEVILED CRAB II

The average deviled crab in New York is made with a cream sauce base. It has other seasonings, but the creaminess is the dominant quality.

1 pound crabmeat

2 cups sauce velouté (page 21)

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Few grains cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper

Buttered crumbs

Combine the crabmeat, the sauce, egg yolks, and the flavorings. Heap into individual shells or ramekins or a large baking dish. Dust with buttered crumbs and brown quickly in a 425° oven.

VARIATIONS

1. Add 3 tablespoons sherry to the mixture before putting it in the shells.

2. Add 2 tablespoons grated onion to the sauce before adding the crabmeat.

DEVILED CRAB III

1/2 cup red wine

1 tablespoon chili sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of Tabasco

6 tablespoons finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped green pepper

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 pound crabmeat

Salt

Buttered crumbs

Combine the wine and the seasonings and heat thoroughly for 3 or 4 minutes. Cook the onion and green pepper in the butter for 2 minutes. Add the parsley and combine with the sauce and the crabmeat. Salt to taste, pile into shells, top with buttered crumbs, and dot with butter. Bake at 425° just long enough to brown.

CRABMEAT IN CREAM

Add 1 pound of crabmeat to 1 cup of béchamel (page 23) or sauce velouté (page 21). Serve on toast, in patty shells, or in croustades.

VARIATIONS

1. Add 1/4 cup sherry or Madeira to the sauce.

2. Use half crabmeat and half shrimp, clams, or mussels. Add 4 tablespoons sherry or Madeira to the mixture.

3. Combine 3/4 pound crabmeat with 1/2 pound sliced sautéed mushrooms. Add to the sauce and flavor with 3 tablespoons brandy or whiskey.

4. This variation is called
Hongroise.
Add 1 tablespoon of Hungarian paprika to the sauce.

5.
Indienne.
Add 2 tablespoons grated onion and 1 tablespoon curry powder to the sauce. Serve on rice with a garnish of toasted almonds and crisp French-fried onions.

6. Pile creamed crab in a baking dish or in individual ramekins. Sprinkle with finely chopped almonds and crumbs and dot with butter. Brown quickly in a 425° oven.

CRABMEAT MORNAY

Combine 1 pound crabmeat with 13/4 to 2 cups sauce Mornay (page 22). Serve with croustades or in ramekins.

VARIATIONS

1. Heap the crabmeat Mornay in shells or ramekins and top with grated cheese and buttered toasted crumbs. Run under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.

2.
Florentine.
Cover the bottom of a casserole with finely chopped cooked spinach. Top with crabmeat and cover with sauce Mornay. Sprinkle with paprika and buttered crumbs and brown quickly under the broiler or in a hot oven.

3. Poach some small oysters in their own liquor and a little white wine until the edges curl. In a baking dish arrange a layer of crabmeat and then a layer of the oysters. Top with sauce Mornay, sprinkle with crumbs and grated cheese, and brown quickly under the broiler.

4. Stuff large mushroom caps with crabmeat and arrange in a flat baking dish. Top each mushroom with sauce Mornay and sprinkle with crumbs. Brown quickly under the broiler or bake in a 450° oven for to or 12 minutes.

5. Heat the crabmeat in 3 tablespoons butter. Add 1 tablespoon grated horseradish, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 4 tablespoons chopped parsley, and 2 tablespoons grated onion. Arrange in the bottom of a baking dish and top with sauce Mornay. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs and brown quickly under the broiler.

CRABMEAT SOUFFLÉ

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon grated onion

4 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup milk

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Nutmeg

Juice of 1/2 lemon

11/2 cups crabmeat

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

6 egg whites

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, add the onion, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the flour and mix well. Gradually stir in the milk until the mixture has thickened. Season to taste with the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Remove from the heat, add the crabmeat, and stir in the egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold in one half of them and blend well. Then fold in the second half very lightly. Pour into a buttered soufflé dish and bake in a 375° oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until the soufflé is light and puffy.

Serve with a sauce Mornay (page 22) or a sauce béchamel (page 23) with a little crabmeat and 4 tablespoons sherry added.

CRAB CAKES

This famous Southern dish has changed a great deal from the early days, possibly because we have lost much of the quality and distinction of the good regional cooking of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is my personal opinion that these popular cakes, considered great delicacies in Maryland, are a bit on the heavy side. But they have a great public.

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup bread crumbs

1 pound crabmeat

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heavy cream

Flour

Melt the butter in a skillet and cook the onion until just transparent. Add the crumbs and blend well. Mix with the crabmeat, eggs, and seasonings. Add just enough cream to bind the mixture together. Shape into large flat cakes. Roll each cake in flour and fry in butter or oil until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through. Serve with tartar sauce (pages 35–36) or lemon butter (page 31).

PILAF DE CRABE

This is a recipe from a small Martiniquaise restaurant in Paris that specializes in all the dishes of the Indies.

6 strips of bacon, finely cut

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 pound smoked ham, cut in thin strips

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 pound crabmeat

1/3 cup dark rum

1 cup white wine

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Pinch of sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

Let the bacon try out in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and allow them to just color. Add the ham and heat through. Add the tomato paste and crabmeat; pour the rum over this and ignite. When it has flamed, add the wine, parsley, and sugar and let it all simmer for 15 minutes. Finally stir in the heavy cream. Serve with a rice pilaf.

CRAB À L’AMÉRICAINE

If live crabs are available in your part of the country, use them in this recipe and eat the crab from the shell, cracking the claws at the table. If you cannot get crab in the shell, follow the note at the end of the recipe. First, the sauce:

Sauce Américaine

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

6 shallots
or
green onions, finely chopped

5 large or 8 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon fresh
or
1 teaspoon dried tarragon

11/2 teaspoons thyme

1/2 bay leaf

Salt

4 tablespoons tomato paste

Melt the butter in a skillet, add the onions, and let them cook for a few minutes but do not let them brown. Add the shallots, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings and salt to taste. Let this all simmer for 1 hour or until well blended and thick. Add the tomato paste. Now, for the rest of the recipe:

3 Dungeness crabs
or
6 rather small blue crabs

1/2 cup olive oil

11/2 cups white wine

1/4 cup cognac
or
whiskey

Few grains cayenne pepper

Wash the crabs and remove their backs. Crack the claws, and cut the crabs in half with a sharp knife. Heat the olive oil in a large kettle, add the pieces of crab and sear quickly, turning with a wooden spoon and fork so that the flesh of the crab comes into contact with the hot oil. Add the white wine, brandy, and sauce and let it all simmer for 20 or 25 minutes. Add the cayenne, and taste for seasoning. Serve with a rice pilaf and plenty of large paper napkins or biblike aprons. This is not a dainty dish to eat and you must use your fingers.

NOTE
: If you are making this dish with crabmeat already taken from the shell, prepare the sauce in the same way. Then sauté the crabmeat — 11/2 pounds — in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the brandy or whiskey and the wine. Combine with the sauce and cook up for just a few minutes before serving.

CRABMEAT AND RICE

11/2 cups rice

1 pound crabmeat

1 cup cooked green peas

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

3 tablespoons grated onion

2 finely chopped pimientos

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the rice in your usual way. When it is drained and fluffy add the crabmeat, peas, butter, and flavorings. Season to taste and toss lightly until well mixed. Place in a casserole or copper baking dish, sprinkle liberally with grated cheese, dot with butter, and heat in a 425° oven for 10 minutes — or until it is thoroughly heated through. Serve with a tomato sauce, if you wish, although I prefer mine plain.