San Francisco Crab Meatball Chowder Recipes

CRAB CHOWDER

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, celery, thyme, salt, and pepper in hot butter until onion and celery start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir potatoes, milk, broth, cream, and clam juice into onion mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.
• Pour broth mixture into a blender no more than half full. Cover and hold lid down; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Puree in batches until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot and stir in crabmeat. Cook until soup is hot and crab is heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

CRAB & SWEETCORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Put the onion, white part of the leek and carrots in a large pan and pour on a few tbsp of the stock. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 mins, stirring regularly until soft. Add a splash more stock if the vegetables start to stick.
• Add the potato, green leek and most of the stock, and simmer for 10-15 mins, until the potato is tender. Tip in the sweetcorn and crab meat, then cook for a further 1-2 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche and some seasoning. Add the rest of the stock if the soup is too thick. Sprinkle with the chives and serve with brown bread, if you like.

SAN FRANCISCO CRAB "MEATBALL" CHOWDER

Steps:

• 1. To make the meatballs, place the crabmeat in a mixing bowl and shred with a fork. Add the eggs, milk, dry mustard, pepper, and cracker crumbs. Mix well. Season with salt and hot sauce to taste. Moisten your hands and roll the mixture into balls that are about 3/4- to 1-inch in diameter (about 1/2 ounce each); keep your hands slightly wet so the balls are very smooth. Place on a cookie sheet. You should have about 36 balls. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the chowder.
• 2. To cook the crabs, fill a 6- to 8-quart pot with 1/2-inch ocean water or tap water with enough salt added to make it very salty. Bring to a boil, place the crab(s) top shell (carapace) down in the pot, cover, and steam for about 12 minutes for smaller crabs, about 20 minutes for a Dungeness crab. Remove and allow to cool at room temperature.
• 3. When cool enough to handle, remove the crab legs, break into sections, and neatly crack the large pieces. Pick the meat from the small pieces and reserve. Remove the apron (tail flap) from the bottom of each crab and discard. Remove the top shell, scoop the green stuff (tomalley) out of it, and reserve; discard the shell. Remove the gills from the body and discard. Cut the body into quarters and trim away any extraneous shell or cartilage. Refrigerate all the crabmeat, crab pieces, and tomalley until ready to use.
• 4. Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is a crisp golden brown. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.
• 5. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, bay leaves, and the Old Bay Seasoning and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the onion and pepper are softened but not browned.
• 6. Add the potatoes and crab stock, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the broth hasn't thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release their starch.
• 7. Lower the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cracked crab legs, picked leg meat, tomalley, and body sections. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.
• 8. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat. While it is reheating, place an 8- or 9-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, add about 1/2 inch vegetable oil, and heat to about 350°F. Carefully but quickly add 8 to 10 meatballs to the hot oil and pan-fry, turning them as needed, until they are a rich brown color on all sides, so they resemble real meatballs. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs, letting the excess oil drain back into the pan, then place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.
• 9. Ladle the chowder into shallow bowls or large soup plates, making sure that the crab, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes are evenly divided. Place 4 meatballs in each bowl and sprinkle generously with the chopped parsley. Serve the remaining meatballs on a plate or platter; your guests can add more, if desired.
• In addition to the crab meatballs, the chowder contains two whole crabs. Steaming and cracking the crabs is a bit of work, but they add great flavor. If you use the full amount of crab stock called for in the recipe, you can omit the crabs and still have a great chowder, but do not omit them if you make the chowder with fish or chicken stock. Without any crab flavor in the chowder, the meatballs dont connect. Even with crab stock, I recommend the cracked crabs; they add character and rustic charm.
• For equipment, you will need a 6- to 8-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid (for steaming the crabs), a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot with a lid (for making the chowder), a wooden spoon, and an 8- to 9-inch skillet or sauté pan, a slotted spoon, and a ladle.

CHRISSY'S CRAB CHOWDER

Steps:

• In medium soup pot, saute the onion and celery on medium heat, with butter, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Turn heat to low, add flour, and mix well until pasty. Using a whisk, stirring slowly, add soft cooked bacon, diced cooked potatoes, parsley, paprika, garlic salt, celery salt, white pepper, seafood seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix, and then slowly add the milk and cream, stirring constantly. Add the corn, and finally, gently fold in the crabmeat. Stir slowly. Serve hot.

SAN FRANCISCO-INSPIRED MUSSEL CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a large deep skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until crispy, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, reserving the drippings in the skillet.
• Cook the scallions in the reserved bacon drippings over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Place the minced garlic on your board and sprinkle with a generous pinch of kosher salt, then use the side of a chef's knife to scrape into a paste. Add the garlic, thyme and lemon peel strips and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the fish stock and potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of white pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes.
• Increase the heat to medium-high, add the mussels, cover and cook until the mussels have opened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that have not opened.
• Return the pan to the heat and simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and lemon juice. Top the mussels with the cooked bacon and extra sliced scallions.
• Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush the baguette slices with a little olive oil, then add to the grill pan and cook until golden brown, 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and rub with the whole garlic clove. Served the mussels with the grilled bread.

MEATBALL CHOWDER

Steps:

• Meat Balls: To make meatballs combine all ingredients except oil; mix thoroughly.
• Form into balls about the size of walnuts (40-50 balls). Heat oil and brown balls lightly.
• Chowder: In a 8-10 quart kettle bring all ingredients except Mexicorn to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, adding Mexicorn for last 10 minutes.
• Add browned meat balls.

OLD-STYLE SAN FRANCISCO CRAB CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Using a TALL 8-10 quart pot, cover the bottom of the pot with a good virgin olive oil, about ¼ cup. Add the chopped onion, sage, garlic, parsley and celery and sauté slow and stirring often until tender, approximately 20 minutes. If it gets too dry, add a little more olive oil. Add tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. Reduce to lowest simmer and cook for approximately 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it gets too dry, add a little water.
• Add 10-12 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Begin adding the seafood. Raw crab first (if not raw, then cooked is an ok substitute.) If you get raw crab, cleaned and chopped, it will be much better). Return to a low boil, then lower to low-medium heat for 15 minutes.
• Then add clams and mussels. Continue to simmer 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops, simmer for 10 minutes, along with a cheese glass of white wine (6 oz.) before serving. Ok if this sits on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Add the fish 5-7 minutes before you are ready to serve. Any longer than that, take it off the heat and reheat gently before serving. Ladle into large bowls and have a few extra bowls on the table for shells.
• Have plenty of garlic and olive oil basted sourdough bread, finished with shredded parmesan cheese and your favorite California Chardonay. Offer the usual complement of crab tools, crackers, pickers, etc.
• Left-overs should be refrigerated and eaten next day or two. After eating, offer your guests a warm hand towel with fresh lemon squirted on it, with a little water, microwave on high for 30 seconds.