Best Baked Blue Crab Recipes

EASY SOUTHERN BLUE CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Pour the meat out on a clean sheet pan or plate and pick through it with your fingers to remove any remaining small pieces of shell. Handle it carefully and try not to break up the lumps. It's hard to see the bits of the shell but you can feel them with your fingers.
• Add the "picked over" crabmeat and crushed saltines to a medium-size bowl and mix gently. Set aside.
• Add the mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce to a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
• Combine the two mixtures and gently toss the ingredients together.
• Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• To form the cakes, roughly divide the mixture and then, using your hands, lightly shape it into one-half inch cakes about three inches wide, just until it holds together. I like to use a one-third cup measuring cup to make sure all of the cakes are the same size. Do not pack the mixture tightly.
• Place the cakes on a plate lined with a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add four of the cakes. Cook for about three minutes or until they are golden brown and gently turn them over using a slotted fish turner or pancake turner. I usually hold the top of the cake lightly with my fingers when turning them over to make sure they don't fall apart.
• Cook them for another three minutes or until they are golden brown on the other side. Remove from the skillet. Drain on a wire cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining cakes.
• Serve warm with plenty of remoulade, tartar, or cocktail sauce.

JUMBO LUMP BLUE CRAB CAKES

Steps:

• Pick over the crabmeat to remove any shells. Be gentle, as the lumps of crab are delicate and will fall apart. Set aside. Mix together the mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, scallions, basil, eggs, and salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the crabmeat and with your hands gently mix together. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the crab mixture and continue to mix. Divide the mixture into 4 parts and mold the cakes with your hands (do not rinse off you hands between mixing and forming the cakes, as it is mixture on your hands that help the cakes stay together).
• Refrigerate the cakes for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Paint the crab cakes with a minuscule amount of oil and sear in a hot oven-safe skillet or on a griddle top until lightly golden brown on both sides. The cakes have such little binder that you need to be careful when flipping them over so that they don't fall apart. Place the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, or to heat through.
• Serve with a red Cocktail Sauce and/or a flavored aioli.
• Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

OVEN-ROASTED DUNGENESS CRAB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F. Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, shallot, and dried crushed red pepper. Add crabs; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped thyme and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley over crabs. Stir to combine. Place skillet in oven and roast crabs until heated through, stirring once, about 12 minutes.
• Using tongs, transfer crabs to platter. Add orange juice and peel to same skillet; boil until sauce is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over crabs. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.

HOW TO COOK BLUE CRABS

Steps:

• Fill the bottom of a steamer pot with water, salt, and other seasonings. Fill your steamer pot with 4 cups (950 ml) of water so it's surface is below where the rack sits. Stir in ½ cup (54 g) of seafood seasoning, 1 tablespoon (17 g) of salt, and whatever other spices you want to include with your crab. You can find steamer pots online or in specialty kitchenware stores. Try mixing other liquids into the water, such as lemon juice, light beer, or vinegar, to add more flavor.
• Put the rack inside the pot and bring the liquid to a rolling boil. Set the steamer rack on the lip inside the pot. Put the steamer pot onto your stove over high heat. Reduce your stove to medium heat once the water starts boiling. If the water level is above the rack, drain some of the liquid. If your steamer pot has a basket instead of a rack, set the basket inside so it's above the water.
• Set a layer of whole crabs on the rack and season them. Grab the crabs with a pair of tongs to transfer them into your steamer pot. Create a single layer of crabs before sprinkling each with 1 tablespoon (7 g) of extra seasoning. If you need to make more crabs, continue layering them on top of one another and seasoning them. Once you have all of your crabs in the steamer, put the lid on so they can cook. You can use either fresh or frozen blue crabs. Make sure frozen crabs are completely thawed before you cook them. You do not need to kill them or clean them beforehand.
• Cook the crabs for about 20 minutes or until they're bright orange. Leave your steamer over medium heat for at least 20 minutes. Remove the lid and check the color of the crabs' shells. The shell should change from a dark blue to a bright red or orange. Another way to check if the crabs are finished cooking is if the bottom of their bellies start to pop out and away from their body.Tip: Having more crabs in your steamer pot can affect the cooking time. If they aren't finished after the first 20 minutes have passed, check on your crabs every 5 minutes after to see if they're ready.
• Remove the crabs from the pot and serve them hot. Grab your crabs with a pair of tongs and set them on a clean baking sheet. Let the crabs cool for 5 minutes so they're easier to handle. Break apart the shell so you can eat the meat inside. Wear a bib or tuck a napkin into your shirt so you don't spill crab on yourself. Cooked crab lasts in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

GARLIC CRAB

Steps:

• Place garlic, onions, butter, salt, red and black pepper into a roasting pan and put into a 450 degree oven.
• Be sure to watch carefully and cook until onions and garlic turn golden brown.
• Remove from oven, add crab and blend thoroughly.
• Make sure the crab (shells and all) is coated.
• Place pan back into oven on 475 degree for 15-20 minutes, turning crab about every 5 minutes.
• After the crab has been heated throughout remove from oven.
• Garlic sauce should be braised onto the shell of the crab.
• Serve as soon as possible, sprinkled with parsley and garnished with lemon.

BAKED BLUE CRAB

Steps:

• 1. *Boiled crabs can be leftover and frozen in the body shell. The legs are pulled off first, and then the body is cleaned from the guts (yellow body fat) and "deadman" is what we called it. The deadman is the poisonous tentacles attached to the sides of the inner shell. They should be discarded and not eaten. After the shell body is clean, the body can be frozen.
• 2. After freezing, take the crabs and lay them on a cookie sheet with the open side up. Put a pat of butter and shake a sprinkle of Lawry's Seasoning Salt on the butter. Heat them in a medium oven to melt the butter and warm up the crab. It should take about 15 to 20 minutes, no more, because you're really re-heating the crab.
• 3. The butter and seasoning salt infuses into the crabmeat and tastes delicious. Just crack the shells and enjoy!