The Very Best Steamed Crabs!

I've written a little bit on steamed clams (oh! so delicious); so today, I decided that a little refresher on snow crab would be fun. Steaming is preferred to boiling. When you boil, the crab will release most of its delicate flavor to the water bath; whereas steaming locks it in. Very simple. There are myriad ways to to this, but because large snow crab clusters can be found in most groceries at a very reasonable price (unlike Alaskan King Crab), you can experiment to your heart's content.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs flash frozen snow crab clusters (do not thaw)


• 2 bottles of a nice, robust ale (the choice is yours - but do not use a light lager)


• 1 cup white wine (of course, something you would drink)


• a handful of chives and parsley


• 1 onion quartered; 2-3 stalks celery chopped


• 2 bay leaves


• 1 quarter cup vinegar (I like rice vinegar)


• salt and fresh ground pepper


• Old Bay Seasoning

Method:

• place all ingredients, except crab and Old Bay into a very large pot (you may have to trim the crab to fit if you steamer is not large enough)


• bring to a nice simmer with cover ajar for about 10-15 minutes to let the flavors blend


• meanwhile, rinse the crab clusters in cold water to remove any heavy ice build-up, place on a platter and sprinkle liberally with Old Bay


• turn up the temperature to high to get a good boil going, set crab into the steamer basket, cover the pot


• steam for 4-6 minutes until the crab is nicely heated through

Serve with melted butter (I prefer not, because the crab has such a wonderful flavor is its own right, but some people insist upon it). A nice potato salad and cole slaw goes very well with this. Of course, cold beer is essential (if you use the same kind as you did in the steamer, you'll notice that the flavors lift up nicely).

Now - what to do with the leftover crab? I make crab cakes and my Wife makes a killer chilled crab dip. Crab Cakes:

Ingredients:

• for a 5 lb batch of snow crab for three people - you will have about 1 lbs of leftover crab meat- perfect (pick through to remove any shell fragments
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs, plus extra for coating the cakes
• 1 tsb Coleman's Dry Mustard
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 tbs chopped cilantro or parsley
• enough mayonnaise to moisten everything up (about a quarter cup or more)
• 1 eighth - 1 quarter tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• combine everything except extra Panko; mix well but do not over work it
• roll into balls, and flatten with palms
• dust surfaces with remaining Panko
• heat peanut or vegetable oil and saute until nice and golden brown on both sides
• drain on wire rack and keep warm in 180 degree oven until ready to eat

Serve with a nice remoulade or tarter saute!