Crab Salad - Chef Matt Video Recipe

 Next to lobster, fresh boiled crab is the most luxurious seafood. My nephew, Chef Matt is back with a simple but luscious Crab Salad.

On a visit to Louisiana to see Mom, we came into a few cooked crabs supplied by another nephew, Zak, who worked with a seafood distributor, so the wholesale price was right. The crab's outer shells are removed along with the insides (lungs, gills, etc.). What is left is called a Crab Cluster which includes legs, claws, and the body.

Normally, raw whole crabs are covered in seasoned water (using a package of Crab or Seafood Boil) and boiled for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Click on any photo to see larger.

When we picked and cleaned half a dozen boiled Crab Clusters there was about a pound of crab meat to work with.

Before the 99c only Stores shut down this year, I managed to nap a few 6-ounce cans of Crab Meat for $1.99 each. Oh well, this may be the last crab I have for a while unless my ship comes in! 

I am a fan of fake Krab. It has the flavor of cooked crab but at bargain basement prices. So if you are a cheap$kate like me, and want to try your hand at a Crab Salad, why not first try it with Krab? My last recipe using Krab was for a Cerviche, and it was a tasty one I make during warm summer patio parties, click here to see how I do it. 

You could also skip all the hard work of peeling a crab body and crab claws with a container or two of picked and cleaned Lump Crabmeat. 

If you use crabmeat in the shell, it takes work to get the flesh out. Now, the crab claws are not too hard to work with, think of them as a pecan or walnut in the shell, break the crab claws with a nutcracker. Crack the claws close to the pincher or joints so when the shell is pulled apart you will reveal the flesh, then it's fairly easy to remove in a large piece. 

The hard part is removing flesh from the body of a crab. Once cooked and cooled, the body is broken into a couple of segments, and then you probe and scrape the white chambers with a small fork and butter knife to remove the tender and sweet flakes of flesh.  

Zak and the Swamp Chef were the designated crab peelers so we made quick time of it, even the Swamp Chef picked, I mean, pitched in.

Same as a typical Tuna Salad, Crab Salad has chopped celery and onion, pickle relish, mayo, mustard, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The main adjustment is how much mayo you will add. It can be creamy or go lite and add less mayo.

 Crab meat will spoil, so it's best to keep it refrigerated until preparation. Keep the finished Crab Salad chilled. Serve on a salad or as a sandwich. I like it on a cracker.

Join my Cajun family and get out any fave crackers, or toasty grain bread, and spread on Chef Matt's creamy and rich (flavor and moneywise) Crab Salad. 

Chef Matt's Crab Salad - VIDEO     Play it here, video runs 5 minutes, 56 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• Crab Meat -1 pound cooked and peeled. If using whole crabs about 3-5 crabs depending on size. Okay to use a container of Lump Crabmeat or a package of Krab (Imitation Crab).
• Onion - half cup chopped.
• Celery - half cup chopped.
• Lemon Juice - from 1 or 2 lemons.
• Sweet Pickle Relish - 2 tablespoons.
• Mayonnaise - 1 cup. Add a couple tablespoons at a time to reach the desired creaminess.
• Creole Mustard - 1 tablespoon, optional. Okay to add any favorite mustard.
• Salt and Pepper - to taste.

*Serve Crab Salad with favorite crackers, carrot or celery slices, on a salad, or in a sandwich.

Directions

Containers of Lump Crab Meat are for sale in cans or plastic containers. Okay to use cooked Lump Crab for an easy version. 

The cheapest Crab Salad is made with fake crab or Krab.

For uncooked fresh crabs, boil submerged in water with Seafood Boil for about 15 to 20 minutes. Crab shells will turn bright orange when they are ready.

Peeling cooked crabs takes time and can be a bit tricky. But as with anything, practice makes perfect. Tools include a nutcracker for the shells, and a small fork and butter knife to remove crab meat from shells.

For this recipe, Chef Matt used Dungeness Crab Clusters that were pre-cooked. The outer shell and internal organs were removed. Claws, legs, and body segments were ready to peel.

Once the boiled crabmeat is removed from the shells, make sure to give the meat one more go-over to remove any small shell pieces. To quote Matt: "Nothing worse than biting into a shell."

Add cooked and peeled Crabmeat, celery, and onion to a bowl. Spoon in sweet pickle relish and mayo. Mix well, but use a light touch so you still have some crab chunks.

Add a little mayo at a time to reach desired creaminess. It's up to you how much mayo to add.

You can add mustard or leave it out. I've had it both ways.

Salt and pepper to taste. I add very little salt, as mayo has some already, but I add plenty of pepper.

Chill Crab Salad until ready to eat. 

Serve Crab Salad on favorite crackers, carrot or celery slices, in half an avocado, on a salad, or as a sandwich.

Fake Crab Louie Salad

All rise please, the King of Salads is here: Fake Crab Louie!

A typical Crab Louie uses real lump crab meat. Well, you'll have to settle for fake crab in my recipe. Notice in the animated GIF above, my Royal Cheap$kate's Crown is made of cardboard -- so you won't have to hock the Queen's jewels to pay for the simple salad recipe ingredients.

This salad is old school steak house cuisine that originated on the West Coast around the 1900's. There is debate over where it first came together, either San Francisco or Portland, Oregon. You can read all about it by clicking here.

Almost anyone can afford a head of iceberg lettuce, a couple of tomatoes, a hard-boiled egg or two, and a few stalks of asparagus. Asparagus can be expensive out of season, but I find it quite often at my local 99c only Store. Of course, you can substitute with any cheap veggies you find on sale, like broccoli.

I don't eat sliced boiled eggs on my salads, but since making this recipe, I'm going to keep a few in the refrigerator from now on.

You can get fake crab (or, krab) for around 3 bucks per pound in a typical grocery seafood chilled case. And for this recipe, I only use half a pound to make enough for 3 salad servings. As usual, I get frozen 8-ounce packages of imitation crab meat at my local 99c only Store.

 Click on any photo to see larger.

One thing about frozen imitation crab is it can dry out a bit. If that is the case, I have an easy fix. After it's defrosted, just sprinkle a little water on the krab and microwave in 10-second increments until the krab is warm, but not hot. It will soften and tenderize nicely. The texture will go from stringy and mealy to sweet and supple.

Go ahead and bring Fake Crab Louie into the 21st Century with cage-free eggs, heirloom tomatoes, specialty lettuces, even kale - wait a second, let's go back a few centuries, before big industrial food production began! 

I also have an easy Homemade Louie Salad Dressing comprised of sour cream, ketchup, and hot sauce. You can use store-bought Thousand Island dressing if you like.

 

This Socialist Chef is against all aristocracy, whether it's tax dodging corporate oligarchs, the hoarding moneyed elites, or European royalty - it's all balderdash. However, I will not abdicate my standing as the Earl of Tightwad, dispensing bargain recipes any plebeian can afford. And, until we all come to our senses and become a real sharing economy, I guess there will always be a seat at the culinary table for The 99 Cent Chef.

So read on and allow me to introduce to you my recipe for Fake Crab Louis with Homemade Louie Salad Dressing.

Ingredients (2-3 salad servings, depending on size of a head of lettuce)

• Fake crab (krab) - 8 ounces or half a pound. Okay to use more or less to suit your budget. You can even use real cooked lump crab meat, if your ship comes in, you get a raise, or marry into royalty.
• 2 to 3 eggs - boiled and peeled.
• Lettuce - one head. Okay to use any favorite salad greens like: kale, Romain and spinach.
• Asparagus - about half a pound. Okay to use as much as you like. You can even leave it out if it breaks the budget. Substitute with cheaper veggies like broccoli and carrots.
• Tomatoes - 2 to 3, depending on the size. Okay to use cherry tomatoes.

Louis Dressing (or use store-bought Thousand Island dressing)

• 3 tablespoons of sour cream or mayo - I used sour cream for this recipe. Okay to use low-fat.
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce - I used Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce. Okay to use any favorite hot sauce. Mix in a little at a time to reach the desired spiciness. Okay to use horseradish instead of hot sauce. Hot sauce is optional if your tolerance for spiciness is low.
• 1/4 onion, minced or grated - optional. I used a yellow onion. Some recipes call for sweet pickle relish, so it's okay to add a tablespoon or two.

Directions for Homemade Louie Dressing (okay to use store-bought Thousand Island Dressing)
Add 3 tablespoons of mayo or sour cream to a bowl. Squeeze in a tablespoon of ketchup.

For heat, mix in half a teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce. Add a little at a time to reach the desired hotness. It's okay to leave it out as well.

Fine chop, mince, or grate 1/4 onion. This is an optional addition; dressing will be delish even without onion. Some recipes call for sweet pickle relish - add a tablespoon and see if you like it that way.

Mix the Louie Dressing ingredients well. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Directions for Fake Crab Louis Salad
Low boil 2 to 3 eggs for about 10 minutes until cooked through. Of course, you can boil the eggs any way you like, from semi-soft to a hard-boiled yolk. Cool down eggs with ice water when done, or they will continue cooking. For semi-soft egg yolks, it's okay to add them to salad while warm.

Slice off about an inch of each asparagus stalk. In a large pot or pan, add enough water to almost cover the asparagus. Simmer asparagus about 3-5 minutes until stalks are soft and tender. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the stalks. Just try one out when you think they are tender.

You may need to remove even more stalk after cooking. It's hard to tell how much of the stalk is tough and stringy until the asparagus is cooked. It's okay to slice off even more of the stalk after cooking. You don't want to overcook the tender heads, or they will be mushy.

Add done asparagus to an ice bath or cold water to stop cooking.

Rinse, then roughly shred, or chop, your favorite lettuce. Slice tomatoes.

Prepare the fake crab (or krab). Just roughly shred it. If krab is frozen, it may be tough when defrosted. If so, drizzle it with a teaspoon of water, then zap it in the microwave in 10-second increments until krab is warm and tender. You don't want to cook the krab until hot, just warm it up to absorb some moisture.

Now time to bring it all together.

Layer or mix the lettuce, tomato, asparagus, sliced egg, and krab, and finally top with Homemade Louie Dressing (or Thousand Island Dressing).

Hindsight
Okay to make the salad your own. Use any specialty lettuce and heirloom tomatoes. And if you are flush with cash, or want to impress a date, then use real lump crab meat. I used an 8-ounce package of imitation crab.

You can also use any fresh or steamed veggies you like, including carrots, broccoli, spinach, or cauliflower.

Asparagus can be expensive, so it's okay to substitute it with another veggie, or just leave it out.

You can add a little sweet pickle relish to Homemade Louis Dressing. Okay to use horseradish instead of hot sauce. And you can leave out hot sauce or horseradish if your tolerance for spiciness is low.

Okay to assemble salad a few hours ahead of meal time.