WFDT 11/17/20

Dear Friends,

As you know, we keep on hand several pounds of lump crab at all time because it makes for easy dishes at the last minute for unexpected guests. Through the pandemic, our habit of purchasing three or four pounds of lump each week has persisted. As we have not allowed guests for most of the last few months, it has led to an abundance of lump in our fridge and some interesting crab recipes (Cf. TulaneLSU's 10 minute crab cakes and crab clump, the famous TulaneLSU's lump crab cheese thing turned crab creamed pasta dish, and the infamous, oft criticized and never duplicated TulaneLSU filet mignon burger with Esplanade lump sauce.)



I like cooking with blue crab, one of the best seafoods there is. I think it is better than Dungeness crab and it is much cheaper. We usually get the fresh stuff that is not pasteurized. It tastes best, but it does not last as long. You take and you give.

This evening I had two pounds of lump that needed eating. I had some breadcrumbs, a lemon, butter, and heavy cream, and decided I would try two separate recipes. The first I call Italian breadcrumb crab clump.

Ingredients:
-1 lb lump or jumbo lump crab
-4 tbsp Great Value salted or unsalted butter
-1/2 cup Great Value Italian breadcrumbs
-1/2 lemon
-some heavy cream

Directions:

-Melt the butter on medium heat and then include the breadcrumbs. Cook them down for about two minutes until the smell fills the room. It will look like a breadcrumb crust.



-Add the lump crab and gently incorporate with the cooked breadcrumbs. Turn heat down to low.



-Squeeze the lemon juice and add as much cream as you want.



If you prefer a heavier, crab cake-like stuffing/clump, add just a little cream. If you want a sauce or soup, add more cream. I wanted something heavier, so I made clumps first.



I thought of all my Food Board friends at this point and decided to put it in one of our Thanksgiving chalices.



This recipe made three chalices worth, each of which would fill most people. I added some salt and pepper. Parsley would give it some color.

One pound down and another to go, I decided I wanted something creamier. This time I made what I called Crab and breadcrumb soup.

Ingredients:
- 1 lb lump or jumbo lump blue crab
- 1 tbsp of Great Value butter
- 1 tbsp of Great Value Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 lemon
- some cream
- salt, pepper, and some Prudhomme seafood seasoning

Instructions:

- At medium heat, make a sort of Italian roux with the butter and breadcrumbs.



- Reduce to low temp. Add a pound of crab. Add some cream and whatever spices you want.

Eat up. Each of these dishes should take no more than five minutes total time of cooking and prep work. The real prep work, as anyone who has ever picked crab knows, is in the picking. Never trust a crab recipe that takes a lot of time.



Some Great Value oysters are waiting for me for dessert now. Have a great night.

Yours,
TulaneLSU