Garlic crabs with parsley and lemon
Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). On a cutting board, combine the parsley, six of the garlic cloves, and the lemon zest. Finely chop them together, transfer to a bowl, and set aside. Put the crabs in a large bowl and season with the salt, black pepper, cayenne and hot sauce. Add the bay leaves.
Warm a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat for three minutes, then add the oil and the remaining six garlic cloves. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a plate; set aside.
Working in batches to avoid crowding the skillet, add the crabs to the hot oil and cook until starting to brown on the bottom, about three minutes, then flip and cook until starting to brown on the second side, about three minutes more. Transfer the crabs to a roasting pan and repeat to brown the remaining crabs.
Add two tablespoons of the butter to the skillet and let it melt. Return the crabs to the skillet and turn them to coat evenly with the butter. Transfer the crabs and the reserved garlic to the roasting pan and place the pan in the oven. Roast, flipping once after three minutes, until the crabs are golden, about six minutes in total.
Remove from the oven and add the remaining six tablespoons of butter and the parsleygarlic mixture to the pan. Toss until the crabs are evenly coated. Season with the lemon juice and serve with crusty bread or rice.
Note: A cleaned crab is a live crab that has had the top shell, gills, and back flap removed. Ask your fishmonger for fresh cleaned crabs, or ask if they’ll clean some crabs for you if they’re not already on hand.
I like to leave the bay leaves in the final recipe. They’re not meant to be eaten, but it makes for a beautiful, rustic presentation. it has a full crab-forward flavour, it has steeped long enough and is done.
Set a sieve over a bowl and pour the contents of the pot into the sieve; let it stand until all the butter has dripped into the bowl (this will take a while). Discard the solids.
Pour the strained butter into small airtight containers and label them with “crab butter” and the date. The butter will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month or in the freezer for up to a year.
Warm a heavy-bottomed six-litre skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat for two minutes, then add the crab butter.
When it has melted, add the flour and cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the roux is a little darker than café au lait, closer to the colour of peanut butter, about 30 minutes. Don’t walk away – focus on stirring your roux. Put on an audiobook or just meditate as you stir.
Add the onions. (Be careful to avoid splattering the roux when adding the onions – this is when people sometimes burn themselves.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 20 minutes.
Stir the garlic into the onions and cook for a couple of minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the bell pepper, celery and bay leaf, then stir everything together. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let the vegetables smother together until very soft, with no bite remaining, about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through to make sure nothing is burning and to ensure even cooking. Taste a piece of bell pepper and a piece of celery – if they’re ready, there should be no more crunch to them. If they still have a lot of bite, cook the vegetables for six to eight minutes longer, then test again.
Meanwhile, put the crabs in a large bowl and season with the salt, black pepper, cayenne, and hot sauce. Toss to coat them evenly. Set aside to marinate at room temperature until the vegetables are soft.
Add the crabs to the vegetables and stir to combine. Raise the heat to medium and cook for five minutes. Add the stock and stir. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the contents of the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by one-quarter to half, depending on how thick you want your stew.
Taste the stew: Does it need more salt or pepper? Add some. Does it need more heat? Add cayenne. Does it need acid? Perhaps more hot sauce or a squeeze of lemon? Adjust the seasoning to your liking, then stir in the parsley and green onions. Serve the crab stew over rice. Use your hands to pluck out the crabs and get to the sweet crabmeat.