7/31/2019 Barbecued Crabs With Texas Eats by Robb Walsh

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TEXAS EATS

Scoop the crabs out of the hot oil with a wireskimmer. Let them cool just until they can be handled,then serve them right away with cold beer.

HOMEMADE ZESTFUL

SEASONING

After experimenting with several home equivalent

recipes for this iconic seasoning, I came up with

my own blend. Only my version isnt really like the

original. I omitted the cloves, because I dont like

the aroma. And I substitutedpimentnde la Vera

for the paprika, because I like the smoky flavor that

the Spanish paprika adds. I also added some tasty

but expensive spices like mace and cardamom that

you wont find in the commercial stuff.

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon celery salt

1 tablespoon ground mustard

2 tablespoons smoked paprika (pimentn)

teaspoon ground mace

teaspoon cayenne pepper

teaspoon black pepper teaspoon red pepper flakes

teaspoon ground cardamom

teaspoon ground bay leaves

About cup sugar

In a large measuring cup, combine the salt, celerysalt, mustard, paprika, mace, cayenne, black pepper,red pepper flakes, cardamom, and bay and mix well.(Tis should measure about cup.) Add an amountof sugar equal to the total amount of spices and mixwell. Store in a tightly capped jar or other airtightcontainer for up to 3 months.

SABINE PASS

BARBECUED CRABS

Visitors to Texas seem shocked that Sartins

famous barbecued crabs are deep-fried and notprepared on a Texas barbecue smoker. Like the

barbecued shrimp of New Orleans and the

barbecued oysters of Tomales Bay in Northern

California, barbecued crabs arent slow smoked

over a wood fire.

Cleaning the live crabs is the most difficult part

of making barbecued crabs. First you have to leave

them in ice water for several minutes to stun them

enough so they stop fighting, then you have to rip the

shell off and clean out the exposed guts and lungs.

MAKES 12 HALF CRABS

Peanut oil, for deep-frying

6 live blue crabs

1 cup Homemade Zestful Seasoning

(recipe follows)

Pour the oil to a depth of about 2 inches into a deep,heavy pot or deep fryer and heat to 350F.

While the oil is heating, immerse the crabs in

ice water for 5 to 10 minutes until they are limp. Put1 crab, shell side up, on a flat surface. Hold down aflipper on the bottom le side of the crab with thethumb of your nondominant hand and rip off theupper shell from le to right with your dominanthand. Dont be shy. It takes considerable force to getthe shell started. Clean out the exposed guts and gillsunder running cold water, remove the reproductiveparts, then break the crab in half with 1 claw on eachhalf. Tis will expose the fleshy meat in the middle.Repeat with the remaining crabs.

Put the seasoning in a small, shallow bowl.Working in small batches, dip the crab halves, oneat a time, into the seasoning and then lower theminto the hot oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until thecrabmeat is opaque and cooked through. If the spicemix begins to burn before the crabs are ready, lowerthe heat.

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7/31/2019 Barbecued Crabs With Texas Eats by Robb Walsh

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Copyright page tkCopyright 2012 by Robb WalshPhotographs copyright 2012 by Laurie SmithAll rights reserved.Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the CrownPublishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

ww w.crownpublishing.comww w.tenspeed.comTen Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are reg isteredtrademarks of Random House, Inc.Portions of this work were originally published in different form in thefollowing: I Love Chicken Fried Steak, Texas Burger Binge, and We Want

Beer in theHouston Press(or on houstonpress.com), a Vil lage Voice Mediapublication. Juneteenth Jamboree in Gourmetmagazine (June 2007).All photographs are by Laurie Smith except those attributed to other sources aslisted on page 283.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walsh, Robb, 1952 Texas eats : the new lone star heritage cookbook, with morethan 200 recipes / Robb Walsh. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references.1. Cooking, AmericanSouthwestern style. 2. CookingTexas. I. Title. TX715.2 .S69W363 2012 641.59764dc23 2011035094

ISBN 978-0-7679-2150-3eISBN 978-1-60774-113-8Printed in ChinaDesign by Katy Brown10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1First Edition

7/31/2019 Barbecued Crabs With Texas Eats by Robb Walsh

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