Best Whole Blue Crabs New Orleans Style Recipes

LOUISIANA CRAB BOIL

Steps:

• Rinse your Crabs off and place them in a large ice chest with the plug unplugged, so the crabs don't drown from melted ice. Pour 1 bag of ice over the crabs. This step is necessary. Pouring ice over the Crabs and immersing them will cause them to be dormant, so they don't lose their claws. Let the crabs sit on the ice for at least 1 hour before cooking them.
• d="instruction-step-2″>2. Pour 7 gallons of water into the boiling pot, add the bag of seasoning, the bottle of liquid seasoning, and lemon juice in the pot. Stir seasonings, then place the sausage, potatoes (we boil the potatoes in the netted bag it comes in), mushrooms, onions, garlic, lemons in the strainer basket and place into the boiling pot until the water comes to a boil.
• d="instruction-step-3″>3. Once the water comes to a boil, lift the strainer basket out of the water then pour the crabs into the basket and place back into the water.
• d="instruction-step-4″>4. Add the Corn and Celery to the pot. Doesn't it look delicious? You can use any sausage you like. And omit anything you don't like.
• nstruction-step-5″>5. Let the crabs and the other ingredients in the boiling pot cook for 10 minutes once they come to a boil.
• nstruction-step-6″>6. Once the Blue Crabs and the other ingredients are finished cooking turn off the propane burner and pour the remaining bag of ice into the pot. Let the crabs sit in the pot for 20 minutes before removing them from the pot. * Please keep children and animals away from the pot when cooking and when removing hot food.
• nstruction-step-7″>7. Using thick gloves or oven mitts carefully remove the strainer basket from the pot and pour the contents of the basket onto a table covered with newspaper or pour everything onto a seafood cooling rack.
• nstruction-step-8″>8. Turn the crab's belly side up. This keeps the juice from leaking out which keeps the crabs from drying out. Feeds 4-6 people depending on how much they eat! Make sure to grab lots of paper towels and your favorite beverage before sitting down to eat your Crabs. Enjoy!

NEW ORLEANS CRABMEAT AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add the onions and garlic; sauté for 3-5 min or until vegetables are wilted. Be careful not to brown.
• Sprinkle in the flour, blending well into the mixture.
• Using a wire whisk, add the hot cream into the saucepan, stirring constantly until thick cream sauce is achieved.
• Reduce heat to a simmer.
• Add the white wine, lemon juice, nutmeg, and hot sauce, stir to combine.
• Sprinkle in half of the Cheddar cheese, stirring the mixture constantly.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. If mixture becomes too thick, add a small amount of hot water or whipping cream.
• Place equal parts of the crabmeat in the bottom of 6 au gratin dishes, top with sauce-enough to cover and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake for 10 min or until cheese is bubbly.
• OR.
• Spread crabmeat on the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish, top with sauce, and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
• Bake for 30 min or until cheese is bubbly and melted.

BLUE CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Crabs: Preheat oven to 425 F. Place crabs on a roasting pan and bake in the oven about 30 minutes, until deep red and slightly browned. In a stockpot set over medium heat, add olive oil and roasted crabs, breaking them up with a wooden spoon as they cook, 5 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery (the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking) and stir, cooking just till the vegetables soften, 5 minutes.
• Stock: Add wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Turn heat to high and cook 6-8 minutes, until the wine has nearly evaporated. Add tomato paste and water. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer, 45 minutes.
• Bisque: Remove the crab shells from the stock and discard. (If you miss a couple small pieces of shell, don't worry: they'll get strained out later.) Ladle the stock into the blender, then add the juice of half a lemon and ¾ cup bread cubes. Season with a big pinch of salt and a small pinch of pepper. Cover and let sit so the bread can absorb some of the liquid, 30-60 seconds. Blend on low speed (to avoid splattering hot liquid) for 30 seconds. As the soup blends, turn to high to emulsify, 1 more minute. Taste to adjust for seasoning and texture-the soup should coat the back of a spoon. Add remaining bread, small pinches of salt and pepper, and blend on high to further thicken and emulsify, 1½ more minutes. Taste again for seasoning, then strain through a chinois to remove any small shell pieces, using the back of a ladle to push the soup through into a bowl.
• Assembly: Ladle bisque into individual serving bowls. Chop chives into ½-inch lengths (you should have about a ½ cup total). Garnish each bowl with crab meat and chives. Serve immediately.