Classic French Crab Americaine

butter

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Olive oil is healthier due to its unsaturated fats.

white wine

💰Cheaper: cooking wine

Cooking wine is more budget-friendly.

cream

🥗Healthier: Greek yogurt

💰Cheaper: milk

Greek yogurt provides a healthier option with protein.

Purchase a crab pot and place it off the dock to catch crabs.

Check the crab pot and haul it up to see the catch, which is about 17 crabs, most of which are keepers.

Place the crabs into a 5-gallon bucket filled with ice and water to shock them and make them lethargic.

Heat water in a pasta cooker to steam the crabs, which has a perforated inner pan and a lid.

Once the water boils, add the crabs and steam for about 12 minutes.

Remove the crabs after steaming and deshell them to get the crab meat, which yields about 7 ounces.

Prepare to make crab stock using leftover shells by sweating down vegetables in a heavy cast iron pot.

Add 1 medium yellow onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup of carrot sticks to the pot and sweat until the onions are translucent.

Add 1 teaspoon of peppercorns to the pot with the vegetables.

Fill the pot with cold water, about 3 quarts, and bring it to a near boil, then let it simmer for about 40 minutes.

After simmering, strain the solids from the stock using a large strainer into a bowl, discarding the solids.

Return the stock to a clean pot and bring it to a boil to reduce it by about half, aiming for a final yield of 1 quart.

Add 1/2 mini bottle of brandy and 2-3 ounces of red wine to the boiling stock and continue to reduce it.

Add 15 ounces of petite diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano to the sauce and warm it up.

Season the sauce with black pepper and fresh parsley, and add 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Add some of the reduced crab stock to the tomato sauce to thicken it up.

Prepare the crab bodies by stuffing them with the crab meat and roe.

Serve the stuffed crab bodies with the sauce on top and garnish with baby arugula.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens