Creamy Jonah Crab Claw Broth
This recipe would be better I think except I’m pretty sure we messed up a bunch of steps and didn’t have all the proper ingredients / garnishes (especially looking online at how it’s supposed to look), more in the ingredients and steps as we go.
Regardless, it doesn’t have many ingredients and was relatively simple to whip up.
Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 oz crab claw shells [Good luck finding these, and if you do find them good luck finding them for less than 30 bucks a pound. As you can see from our pictures, we just used crab legs which might not have been the right idea, I’m kinda out of my element when it comes to seafood in general. Should have probably got the crab legs at least, chopped the claws off, then used the claws for a cool looking garnish.]
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 bunch tarragon
2 cups heavy cream [This might be a bit too much. as I note below, when all was said and done it had way too much of the heavy cream taste, but that might be because we didn’t properly use the - ]
Garnish:
4 oz crab meat [We did a big cooking no-no and used imitation crab meat. Try to get the meat out of the legs / claws when you’re done cooking, and make sure to SHRED the meat, NOT dice it so that it floats on top of the broth.]
Blood Orange oil [This, or another citrus oil, can be found at any specialty oil shops. If you live around the Lynfred areas, try The Olive Tap in Long Grove. We didn’t, unfortunately, and I think that also greatly affected the taste of this dish.]
Croutons
Method
Heat the oil in a large rondeau. You may also use a deep straight-sided braising pan. Add the crab shells and sear over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.
[We used a standard stock pot and it worked well]
Add the tomatoes, carrots, and tarragon, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Skim off any unpleasantries that rise to the top. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 1 hour.
[I don’t know what an “unpleasantry” is, but we didn’t skim anything.]
Strain the stock through a large strainer or China cap,
and then once again through a sieve, or fine strainer, into a clean pan.
[unpleasantries?]
Return to the heat and reduce by half. Add the cream, return to a simmer, and skim as needed.
[UNPLEASANTRIES!]
[post-unpleasantries]
Strain through a sieve one final time and serve. Garnish with crab meat, blood orange oil, and croutons.
ENJOY!!
EK & LK
