Most people are accustomed to eating French onion dip or bacon and horseradish dip with their chips, but not many people think about crab dip as a viable snacking choice. It sounds so upscale and just a little snobbish. However, crab dip, whether enjoyed hot or cold, is a great alternative to the usual supermarket dip flavors.
Crab dip is another of those dishes that became more popular during the 1950s, when canned crab was more readily available. However, people on the coast, who had access to fresh crab, had been eating crab dip in one form or another, for years.
When cooks use canned crab, they do need to pay attention to the kind of crab they are buying, and to its initial preparation. Most supermarkets sell “lump crab” or just “crabmeat,” but these are different kinds. Lump crab and backfin crab meat are the premium kinds, and have a white appearance and milder flavor.
General crabmeat is often claw meat, which is darker in color and has a stronger flavor. It is good in soups and gumbo. For crab dip, a cook will normally want to use some variety of white crabmeat. The meat should be well drained, and the cook needs to look through the meat, and break it up a bit with clean fingers, to make sure there are no shell fragments in the meat.
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One easy way to enjoy cold crab dip is to mix a can of crab, drained and picked, with a jar of favorite seafood sauce. This recipe can take claw meat, incidentally. The cook just softens a block of cream cheese or other soft cheese, like Brie, places the cheese on an attractive serving platter and pours the seafood sauce mixture over the cheese. The dip is then served with crackers or Melba toast. Another cold crab dip recipe mixes the crab with softened cream cheese, sour cream and seasonings.
One of the best ways to enjoy crab dip though, is in a hot dip. One recipe calls for 8 ounces (226 grams) cream cheese, softened; six ounces (170 grams) canned flaked crabmeat, drained and picked, three tablespoons milk; two tablespoons finely chopped onion (dried, minced onions may also be used); one-half teaspoon horseradish; 5-8 drops hot sauce (if desired), to taste; black pepper, to taste; dash garlic, to taste; and one-fourth cup (57 grams) toasted, slivered or sliced almonds or nut of choice.
Mix cream cheese in bowl until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, except nuts. Mix well. Turn mixture into small, ovenproof dish. Top with almonds and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius), for 15 minutes. Serve with snack crackers.
This dip may also be made ahead and refrigerated. If it has been refrigerated, increase baking time to 20 minutes, or until heated through.
To toast nuts: Place nuts, one tablespoon margarine or butter and a dash of salt in a pie pan under the oven broiler. Stir nuts frequently until golden brown, but do not let them burn!
This recipe is very forgiving and can be doubled with no trouble. Even onion powder can be used if no other options are available. The dip can be seasoned to the household’s individual taste.
Crab Dip may be prepared and served either hot or cold. Hot crab dip is beaked either like a casserole or souffle. When served on a toast, it is called a canape. Cold crab dip is served like any other dip. Both may be served with a variety of mediums including vegetables, bread, crackers or chips. Or, you can get creative by stuffing mushrooms or potato skins with crab dip before baking.
Numerous different types of crab are eaten all over the world, from the popular horse crab in Asia to the succulent, sweet Dungeness crab found in the Pacific Northwest. Crab meat can provide essential vitamins and minerals to the consumer, and it is generally believed to be a healthy addition to the human diet. For people who are concerned about fat in their diets, crab meat is actually extremely low fat, as long as it isn't paired with rich butter and cream sauces. Depending on where you live, you may be able to get a selection of different types of crab, or you may be limited to only one or two varieties which can withstand the shipping process.
The East coast of the United States has an abundant number of different types of crab. In Maine and parts of Canada, diners can find the so called peekytoe or bay crab, while the blue or softshell crab favors many parts of the East Coast, especially Maryland. Further South, consumers often admire the large arms of the stone crab, a species which is abundant in Florida. Stone crabs are caught so that fishermen can take off their claws and then released; the claws are such a great source of meat that this practice is profitable, and the crab regrows its arm after it is severed.
The popular Cancer pagarus can be found in the North Atlantic and parts of the Mediterranean. It is such a ubiquitous food source that some people simply call it “crab” or “edible crab.” Both the North Pacific and North Atlantic host abundant numbers of snow crabs, also called spider crabs, opilio crabs, rock crabs, or queen crabs. The aforementioned Dungeness is a common offering along America's West Cost during the height of the winter season, where it is one of the most prized of the different types of crab, and it is also found in Canada.
In Asia, people enjoy eating mud or mangrove crab, a species which lives in mangrove swamps across Asia and in parts of Australia. Another commercially valuable crab in Asia is the Japanese blue or horse crab, one of the most heavily harvested crab species in the world. Further west, people consume flower crab, which is found in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and in parts of Africa. This species has a naturally sweet, flavorful flesh which some people find quite enjoyable.
These different types of crab can be cooked in numerous ways, although most people prefer to boil or steam their crab. The meat can be eaten plain, stuffed into spring rolls, scattered on salads, or used in other creative ways. If you can obtain a naturally sweet species like flower crab, go light on the seasoning to let the natural flavor of the crab come through.
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