Friday Fish Dish – Snow Crab Smack

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It’s Friday night, pondering what to serve, with minimal effort, Snow Crab comes to mind. Steamed and succulent snow crab is such a crowd pleaser. So very easy to prepare and plate. The bright pink-red shells give promise to the sweetness that needs only clarified butter as an accent. It’s still in season, albeit nearing the end [January 15 through March].

Serve the crab with lemon wedges and clarified butter. Don’t settle for garden-variety butter in the dairy section. Rather, choose an Irish

butter, Plugra or a European-style butter, which have a higher fat content, making the butter sweeter and creamier and a really decadent dipping sauce.

The crab is the star and needs little else as accompaniment. However, a side could be roasted new potatoes, sprinkled with parsley and drizzled with butter. A salad could be a simple spinach salad with thin sliced red onion and a evoo and balsamic vinaigrette.

And what to pair with this sumptuous repast? We suggest pairing with a Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling. Most Rieslings are fruit forward and tend to be on the sweeter side, however, Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling is a medium sweet with well balance fruits, pear, melon and tangerine. The acidity nicely compliments the rich sweetness of the crab.

Serving is a simple placing of leg-sets on a platter. Place settings are appointed with crab crackers, side bowls for shells and plenty of napkins. Cloth is always preferred, excepting when butter and shell-cracking is involved. There is a point in the dining experience, where conversation wanes, as coaxing, dipping and savouring the tender crab becomes a singular focus.

To steam the crab: use a two-piece pasta pot with the strainer portion as a steamer.
Bring 3-4 cups water to boil. Keep water below the level of the strainer portion of the pot, the crab is steamed, not boiled. Cover with a lid and steam 5-7 minutes and voila, perfection!

Note: some recipes suggest using Old Bay Seasoning in the water, go pure, nothing compares to the crabs legs natural sweet and rich flavour.

Entertaining Thoughts for Your Friday evening. xoxo

Château Ste. Michelle Riesling

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