Spicy Potted Crab Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the beer and vinegar with 1 cup of water in a very large pot. Add a steamer insert and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Add the crabs and 1/4 cup of the Old Bay and cook, covered, until the crabs are bright red, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size. Transfer the crabs to a large platter and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Old Bay.
• Serve the hot crabs with the Spicy Butter and lemon wedges on the side.
• Make the butter while the crabs cook: combine the butter, Old Bay, cayenne and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Pour the melted butter into a small ramekin, leaving the milk solids in the saucepan.

Steps:

• Tip the crab into a bowl and check for any pieces of shell. Melt 100g of the butter and add half the chilli, the lemon juice, nutmeg and salt. Add to the crab and mix well. Pack into a bowl or jar, pressing down lightly.
• Melt the remaining butter. When it is foaming, remove from the heat. When the foam has died down, carefully skim off any scum that is on the surface with a teaspoon, then pour the clear butter over the crab, leaving behind any milky sediment. Scatter over the remaining chilli and put a bay leaf in the centre.
• Leave to set in the fridge for about 1 hr. Serve on a board with the prawns and radishes, with toasted rustic bread.

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.

Steps:

• Remove crabmeat from shell, discarding cartilage, then finely chop all of crabmeat and transfer to a bowl. Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat and stir in remaining ingredients (except crabmeat). Cool 3 minutes, then stir in crabmeat.
• Transfer mixture to dish and tamp down. Cover surface with wax paper, then cover dish with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, tossing occasionally, until al dente. Scoop out 1 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta and set aside. Zest, then juice the lemon, and set aside to use later.
• Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low. Add the garlic, red-pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook for 1 minute, stirring often, until fragrant. Add the panko and cook, stirring occasionally, until the panko begins to brown. At that point, begin stirring almost constantly and cook until the crumbs are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside, reserving the skillet.
• Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, along with the wine. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to melt the butter, and add the corn kernels. Cook until the corn is tender and the liquid is reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside until the pasta is ready.
• Add the reserved pasta water to the skillet, along with 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, then add the cooked pasta and cook, tossing often, until about half the liquid has been absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the crab and parsley, toss, and cook for 1 more minute, until the crab is heated through. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, then the Parmesan, and toss until the cheese is melted. Taste for seasonings and add salt to taste.
• Serve the pasta in shallow bowls, topped with a generous sprinkle of bread crumbs, lemon zest, basil and more red-pepper flakes if desired.

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.