Blue Crabs With Spicy Butter Recipes

CRAB WITH SPICY GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Wash the cleaned crab a couple of times in cold water and keep it aside.
• Bring a pot of water to boil. (Use a pot large enough to hold all the crabs or else cook in two batches)
• Once the water boils, add the washed crab, 1 lime, 2 bay leaves, and cook till it turns pink.
• Drain and keep aside.
• Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold all the crabs.
• Turn the heat to medium-low until the butter melts and take care so that the butter doesn't burn.
• Add the bay leaves and the garlic and cook till you can smell the aroma of garlic.
• Now add the spices (paprika, cayenne, coriander, cinnamon) and stir for a minute to get rid of the raw flavor of spices. Add the vinegar, pepper, and salt. Taste and adjust the flavor if needed. (Be careful when doing so as the butter will be very hot.)
• Place the drained crab in a big bowl and add the sauce. Toss it to coat well.utter.
• Optional: Add the crabs to the pot with butter sauce. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring it every five minutes and coating all the crabs with sauce.
• Transfer the crabs onto a serving plate. Serve with fresh cut limes and sauce in a bowl.

SPICY CRAB BOIL FOR BLUE CRABS

Steps:

• To make the spice mix, grind the mustard, celery, cumin, dill seeds, and bay leaves in an electric spice grinder or a clean coffee grinder. Place the freshly ground spices in a large bowl and mix in the paprika, chile powder, red chile flakes, and thyme. Add the fresh herb sprigs to the bowl.
• Put some water and a steamer insert in the bottom of a very large pot. Add the crabs, sprinkling the spice mix and the herb sprigs between the crabs as you layer them in the pot. Put the lid on, bring the water to a boil, and steam until the crabs are cooked, about 20 minutes. The crabs should be a bright red. Remove the crabs from the pot, serve hot, and pass around crab crackers or hammers.

SPICY BOILED CRABS, SHRIMP, POTATOES, CORN, AND GARLIC

Steps:

• In a 7- to 8-gallon kettle bring 5 gallons water to a boil.
• While water is coming to a boil, in a deep sink rinse crabs in 2 or 3 changes of water. (Do not fill sink too full or crabs may crawl out.)
• Add Zatarain's crab boil or 5 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, cayenne, salt, lemons, and onions to boiling water and boil 5 minutes. Add potatoes and garlic and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer potatoes and garlic with a large sieve to a large platter and keep warm, covered with foil. Add corn to boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer corn with tongs to platter and keep warm, covered with foil.
• Return water to a boil. Transfer about 6 crabs carefully with long tongs to sieve, holding them down in sieve with tongs, and turn crabs out into boiling water. Add remaining crabs in same manner. Return water to a boil and cook crabs until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. (To determine doneness, remove a claw and crack it with the handle of a dinner knife. Use Knife to extract meat from claw.) Transfer crabs with sieve to another large platter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning.
• Return water to boil and cook shrimp until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp with sieve to large platter with crabs and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon Old Bay seasoning.
• Serve crabs, shrimp, and vegetables with horseradish cocktail sauce and French bread.

STEAMED BLUE CRABS

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup seafood seasoning, salt, beer, and vinegar in a large stockpot over high heat. Bring to a strong simmer.
• Right before cooking, carefully place each crab upside down and stick a knife through the shell, just behind mouth.
• Fit a screen over the beer mixture and layer the crabs on the screen. Be sure that the crabs are above the simmering liquid. Cover.
• Steam crabs until they turn bright orange and all of the blue/green color is gone, 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup seafood seasoning before serving.