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Crab Stock

Ingredients:

  • Shells from 3 Dungeness crab Clusters (will yield about 3-4 cups)
  • 2 Tbsp’s vegetable oil
  • 1 medium sized white or yellow onion (coarsely chopped)
  • 1/4 cup of Brandy
  • 3 Tbsp’s Tomato Paste
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 Tsp whole peppercorns
  • 3-4 sprigs of Thyme
  • 3-4 sprigs of tarragon

Putting it together:

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the crab shells and cook, stirring and pressing until lightly browned (about 5-7 minutes).
  2. Stir in your chopped onion, tomato paste, bay leaf and peppercorns and cook until the onion is slightly softened (about 3-4 minutes).
  3. Add the Brandy and cook until evaporated. Add 6 cups of water and your tarragon and thyme and bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, for about 1 hour.
  5. Strain the stock, pressing hard on the solids with a wooden spoon. You can strain the stock a 2nd time through a fine mesh strainer.

Nourishment for your body: Crabs are a great source of protein, omega 3 fatty acids, selenium, vitamin B-12, copper and phosphorus.

Tips when cooking:

After steaming, boiling , grilling or baking the crabs, break the shells using either wooden mallets, a nut-cracker, as well as your forefingers and thumbs. Gently remove the meat. Crab stock can be kept frozen for 2 months. It is a wonderful addition to have in your kitchen to make soups such as bisques and chowders and a number of sauces. If you steam or boil your crabs, you can reserve this cooking liquid to use in place of regular water when making this stock.

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