If garlic bread and crab boil had a baby, this would surely be it! Sweet dungeness crab gets tossed in the classic garlic bread mixture — garlic, butter, and parsley — and served with crusty bread to soak up any extra butter. It is a bit messy, but feel free to use the bread as a tasty napkin!
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 Dungeness crab clusters, thawed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt
- ½ lemon
- Crusty bread for serving and dipping
Directions
Separate Crab
Separate the crab legs from the body. Using a sturdy knife cut the bodies in half.
Steam Crab
Place the crab into a wok or skillet with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Cover and steam just until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well and wipe out the pan.
Stir-fry
Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the butter, oil, garlic, and as much red pepper flakes as desired, and sauté just until sizzling. Add the crab, parsley, and a pinch of salt, and stir-fry until coated with the sizzling mixture. Transfer to a deep platter, scraping all of the butter and aromatics on top and add a squeeze of lemon. Serve right away with claw crackers, bread, and lots of napkins. Dip the crab meat and bread into the surrounding butter and enjoy!
Pro Tips
Pair it Up
Go for bubbles and a light acidy for freshness. A little sweetness helps balance the spice, too. A sparkling Riesling hits all the marks.
Spice it Up
Swap the crushed red pepper flakes with chipotle flakes for a smoky heat.
Change it Up
Reserve any leftover crabmeat and shells separately. Make a stock with the shells and freeze. Fold the crabmeat into an omelet for breakfast or buttered noodles for dinner.
Lighten it Up
The beauty of this dish is the buttery sauce. You can use all olive oil and omit the butter altogether.
Know Your Cook
Grace Parisi
Culinary Director Grace Parisi is a cook, writer and cookbook author. Formerly the Senior Test Kitchen Editor at Food & Wine Magazine and Executive Food Director at TimeInc Books, her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Health, O Magazine, Epicurious, Fitness, Today, Serious Eats, Martha Stewart, and many more. She’s the author of more than 6 books, among them The Portlandia Cookbook and Get Saucy, which was nominated for a James Beard award for Best Single Subject Cookbook.
