Spiced Potted Crab Food

POTTED CRAB

Steps:

• Clarify butter: Melt 1 cup butter in a small, deep saucepan over low heat. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes. Using a spoon, skim foam from surface. Carefully pour clarified butter (the clear liquid) into a medium saucepan; discard milk solids from bottom of small pan.
• Set clarified butter over medium heat. Gently stir in crabmeat. Heat until just bubbling. Remove from heat. Gently stir in brandy, chile, salt, pepper, paprika, and nutmeg. Divide crab mixture among three 1-cup jars. Let cool completely.
• Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Let cool completely. Pour over crab mixture in jars. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Serve with melba toast.

SPICY POTTED CRAB

Steps:

• The day before: Heat the butter in a pan until melted. Turn up the heat a little to separate most of the milk solids (the creamy white looking part) to start clarifying, but be careful it doesn't burn. It is clarified when there are a few nutty brown "bits" at the bottom and the remaining liquid is a clear golden colour. Cool slightly and carefully pour into a jug, leaving the nutty "bits" behind.
• Pour the clear butter back into a clean pan and tip in the chilli powder. Heat very gently for 1-2 minutes. (The butter will cloud up again.)
• Put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and season. Carefully fold together with a spatula, trying not to break up the plump flesh. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Loosely spoon the mixture into 20 100ml ramekins or into one larger shallow serving dish. Ensure you leave a nice level top. Now pour over the chilli clarified butter to give a thin covering. Stir the butter to distribute the spice each time before you pour. If the butter cools too much, microwave it for 30 seconds. Cover the ramekins and put in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight, until the butter is set.
• Make the melba toast: lightly toast the bread. Cut off the crusts, then slice the bread through the centre so you have ultra thin slices. Put the toast, cut-side up, under a medium to hot grill to toast until the edges curl. Be careful as it burns easily. Cool, and store in sealed plastic bags.
• On the day- one hour ahead: Remove the potted crab from the fridge an hour before serving, but keep in a cool place. You want the mixture to be soft enough so that all the delicious buttery flavours blend into the toast. Put each ramekin or a spoonful of spicy crab on to a serving plate with a lemon wedge.
• Crisp the melba toast, if necessary, in the oven for 5 minutes. Place a couple of slices on each plate and serve.

POTTED CRAB

Steps:

• Tip the crabmeat into a bowl and mix with the mayonnaise, shallot, chives, orange zest and some seasoning. Spoon the mixture into a shallow serving dish. Smooth the top over, then pop in the fridge to chill.
• Gently melt the butter and smoked paprika together. Leave the butter to cool a little, but don't let it solidify. Carefully pour the clear butter fat over the crab, leaving the milky butter residue still in the saucepan. Return to the fridge for 20-25 mins or up to a day to firm the butter up. Serve with some grilled sourdough for spreading everything over.

CRAB BOIL

Steps:

• In a small stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the artichokes, sausage and onions until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Add 12 cups (3 quarts) water, the potatoes, crab boil spice mix, salt, hot sauce, pepper, bay leaves and jalapenos. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the corn and cover. Cook until the corn is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the crab and cook about 7 minutes. Strain the boil through a colander. Plate immediately on a large serving dish. Garnish with sliced green onions or your favorite fresh herb. Serve with the Garlic Bread.
• Position an oven rack in the top of the oven and preheat the broiler.
• In a small bowl, mix the butter together with the Parmesan, parsley, garlic and scallions; add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Spread the butter mixture on both halves of the baguette. Place on a sheet pan and toast under the broiler, about 2 minutes.

SPICY BOILED CRABS, SHRIMP, POTATOES, CORN, AND GARLIC

Steps:

• In a 7- to 8-gallon kettle bring 5 gallons water to a boil.
• While water is coming to a boil, in a deep sink rinse crabs in 2 or 3 changes of water. (Do not fill sink too full or crabs may crawl out.)
• Add Zatarain's crab boil or 5 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, cayenne, salt, lemons, and onions to boiling water and boil 5 minutes. Add potatoes and garlic and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer potatoes and garlic with a large sieve to a large platter and keep warm, covered with foil. Add corn to boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer corn with tongs to platter and keep warm, covered with foil.
• Return water to a boil. Transfer about 6 crabs carefully with long tongs to sieve, holding them down in sieve with tongs, and turn crabs out into boiling water. Add remaining crabs in same manner. Return water to a boil and cook crabs until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. (To determine doneness, remove a claw and crack it with the handle of a dinner knife. Use Knife to extract meat from claw.) Transfer crabs with sieve to another large platter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning.
• Return water to boil and cook shrimp until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp with sieve to large platter with crabs and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon Old Bay seasoning.
• Serve crabs, shrimp, and vegetables with horseradish cocktail sauce and French bread.