Best The Very Best She Crab Soup Ever Recipes

CAROLINA SHE-CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium low, whisk in the flour and continue to cook, stirring constantly. You are essentially making a roux without browning it. Stir in the seafood seasoning, nutmeg, bay leaf and pepper, then whisk in the sherry and clam juice. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in the seafood stock and crab roe, if using, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
• Add the heavy cream and Worcestershire, return to a simmer and cook until thickened and reduced slightly, another 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, then puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth (or use a regular blender; let cool slightly first, and use caution when blending hot liquids). Season with salt. Stir in the crabmeat and garnish with crab roe if desired.

CHARLESTON SHE-CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• Bring water in the bottom of a double boiler to a boil, reduce heat so that water barely simmers and make sure that the amount of water does not touch the bottom of the top of the double boiler.
• Melt butter in the top of a double boiler and blend with the flour until smooth.
• Add the milk gradually, stirring constantly.
• Add the crab meat and roe and all seasonings except sherry and cook slowly, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes.
• To serve, place a tablespoon of warmed sherry in the bottom of each individual soup bowl.
• Add soup and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
• Sprinkle with parsley and/or paprika.

SOUTH CAROLINA SHE-CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Stir in flour to make a smooth paste, and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Mix in the onion, celery, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook and stir for about 4 minutes.
• Gradually whisk in the half and half cream so that no lumps form. Stir in chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, and pour in half of the sherry. Season with dill, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until soup has reduced by 1/3. Add crabmeat, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Ladle soup into bowls, and top off with a splash of the remaining sherry and a sprinkle of fresh chives.

CLASSIC SHE CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• Place eggs in a 2 quart saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 10-12 minutes. Remove eggs from hot water and cool.
• Press the yolks of hard-boiled eggs through a sieve and set aside.
• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the green onions and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the flour and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, milk and cream. Bring to a simmer.
• Add cooked egg yolks, crabmeat, sherry, salt and pepper and heat through. Ladle into bowls and garnish each serving with a pinch of paprika and a lemon slice.

SHE-CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• 1 Bring a large pasta pot two-thirds full of water to a boil, and using tongs, transfer 2 of the crabs to the pot. Cook until their shells turn bright orange, about 3 minutes, then transfer the cooked crabs to a colander set in the sink and run cold water over them. Add the next 2 crabs to the pot and repeat until all the crabs have been cooked.
• 2 As each cooked crab becomes cool enough to handle, slip your thumb beneath the place on its underside where the cape of shell tapers to a point, and lift the bottom shell up, pulling the entire carapace off the body of the crab. Clean out and discard the spongy-feathery gills on the body. Carefully pick out any orange roe you may see inside the body, and reserve. Then snap one of the smaller legs off the body of the crab to use as a pick, to tease out any roe in the hollows of the carapace that taper to a sharp point, and reserve. Repeat with the remaining crabs until all the roe has been picked. Then split the crab bodies and legs, pick the meat from them, and add it to the rest of the picked crab meat.
• 3 Pour off all but 3 cups of the cooking water, and add the picked crab bodies, legs, and carapaces, then return to a boil. Let boil until reduced by a third, about 10 minutes, and strain the crab broth into a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven.
• 4 Heat the broth over high heat until it simmers. Put the flour in a small bowl or ramekin, spoon 3 tablespoons of the hot broth into it, and whisk it to a smooth paste with a fork. Pour the remaining broth into a blender, add 1/4 cup of the crab roe, and liquefy until the roe is completely dissolved in the broth. With the blender running, add the flour paste to the broth.
• 5 Return the Dutch oven to the heat and melt the butter over medium-low heat until it's frothy. Add the shallot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is soft, fragrant, and translucent, but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add the half-and-half, the broth mixture, and 1 tablespoon of the sherry, and cover. When the soup comes to a simmer, turn the heat to low, uncover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the soup has reduced by about one-sixth, 12 to 15 minutes.
• 6 Add the crab meat and cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring to combine. Season the soup with salt and black pepper.
• 7 Pour a teaspoon of sherry into each bowl before serving, and garnish each bowl with about 11/2 teaspoons roe and chives, if using. Serve with additional sherry-in a shot glass for each guest, or in a cruet for passing around the table-for those who might want more.