This Crab with Spicy Garlic butter sauce | Crab boil recipe| seafood boil is to die for. Its buttery, garlicky, full of flavor, and the best part is you can get in ready in 30 minutes or less.
How I got hooked on to seafood.
If you ever visit Goa, you should definitely try the seafood there. It was there where I got hooked on to seafood. The appetizers coated with a crisp layer of semolina, the flavor of coconut milk, curries made by grinding fresh coconut and spices is bound to take any foodie to paradise. Until then, the only thing I ate out of the sea was fish:).
Don’t you have a mental block when it comes to cooking specific food? Crab, Squid, and Lobster were something I thought I would never try. Nevertheless, it was only because my older one insisted that I even tried making it and I must say I have discovered some delicious recipes on my way, like the Fried Calamari or Spicy Squid. This Crab with spicy garlic butter sauce is irresistible in every way. In fact, Nivaan thinks I should make it every day.
In general, anything with butter tasted good, Right? But when you add garlic to butter, it’s heavenly, and the spices will tickle your taste buds. Moreover, the crab meat becomes tender when simmered in butter sauce, and the flavor of herbs and spices gets absorbed.
Some other seafood recipes you will like:
Salmon curry with coconut milk
Seafood boil near me
I got hooked on to seafood boil when we went to Joe’s crab shack in Orlando. It has since been one of my favorites. I am glad that we also have Joe’s crab shack in Dubai.
If you like seafood, Dubai is a great place because you get a variety of fresh seafood at a very reasonable price. We often go to Karama and Deira fish market rather than supermarket chains to pick up fresh seafood. You will also see a drastic difference in the pricing too.
How to buy fresh seafood?
Any seafood will only taste good if it’s fresh. Above all, the taste varies a lot too depending on whether it’s fresh or was previously frozen
A dock or a fish market is the best place to buy seafood. Always enquire when the fresh catch arrives. Generally it in the morning or sometime in the early afternoon and don’t buy stuff that has been sitting on ice for too long.
On the contrary, if you don’t have access to a dock, then buy it from one of the good supermarkets in your area. Keep an eye on their hygiene practices and how they handle seafood. The problem is seafood tends to dull and rot quickly compared to other meat.
Fresh seafood should not have a strong unpleasant smell.
When selecting fish, the eyes should be clear and not cloudy, and the gills should be dark red.
If buying frozen then check the labels to see where its from and how it was packed.
Seafood boil recipe
It is one of the easiest recipes you can make. The seafood butter sauce is irresistible. You can adjust the cayenne pepper as per your taste.
Butter, garlic, and spices will send you to food heaven.
You can also add shrimp, crawfish, corn, potato, and sausages to the mix to create a great party platter.
How to make a seafood boil?
Seafood boil can be made in 3 simple steps:
- Rinse the seafood well with cold water a couple of times.
- Boil it in water and strain
- Make the butter sauce. It should take less than 10 minutes
- (Optional) Once the seafood is cooked and drained, you can pour the sauce directly over it but I like to add the seafood to the sauce and cook for additional 15 minutes so that the flavor gets into the crab.
How to cook seafood?
If you ever want to get the gamey smell off, you can wash it in a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice. Lemon and vinegar can be your best friend when it comes to getting rid of the smell and the fishy taste. Tang in a seafood prep is directly proportional to the fantastic flavor.
You can use the same recipe to make crawfish boil sauce.
The recipes which I make often are the Kerala style red fish curry. It’s by far one of the best fish curries there is in my opinion. It’s tangy, spicy and I have had friends who never touched seafood in their life swear by it.
The other recipe I use is the one with coconut milk. This Salmon curry with coconut milk is one of the easiest things you can make. It’s a one-pot curry where you add everything and just simmer the gravy.
What sides should I serve with sea food boil?
Few of the sides you can serve with crab boil recipe are crusty bread, potato salad, or corn.
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REMEMBER!
If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
—-Dale Carnegie
This recipe for Crab with Spicy Garlic sauce is to die for. Its buttery, garlicky and full of flavor. The best part is you can get in ready in 30 minutes or less.
- 1 kg (2.2 pounds) crab
- 1/2 cup 113 g (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 4 bay leaves
- 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoons cayenne
- 1/2 tablespoon red chilly flakes
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
- 1 teaspoon pepper powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 Lime , cut into wedges
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Wash the cleaned crab a couple of times in cold water and keep it aside.
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Bring a pot of water to boil. (Use a pot large enough to hold all the crabs or else cook in two batches)
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Once the water boils, add the washed crab, 1 lime, 2 bay leaves, and cook till it turns pink.
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Drain and keep aside.
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Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold all the crabs.
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Turn the heat to medium-low until the butter melts and take care so that the butter doesn't burn.
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Add the bay leaves and the garlic and cook till you can smell the aroma of garlic.
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Now add the spices (paprika, cayenne, coriander, cinnamon) and stir for a minute to get rid of the raw flavor of spices. Add the vinegar, pepper, and salt. Taste and adjust the flavor if needed. (Be careful when doing so as the butter will be very hot.)
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Place the drained crab in a big bowl and add the sauce. Toss it to coat well.utter.
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Optional: Add the crabs to the pot with butter sauce. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring it every five minutes and coating all the crabs with sauce.
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Transfer the crabs onto a serving plate. Serve with fresh cut limes and sauce in a bowl.
To save time while cooking, you can boil the crab and start making the sauce simultaneously. Add the level of spice as per your taste. This seafood boil sauce recipe can be used for other seafood like crawfish, shrimp and clams.
You can also add corn and sausages too.
