This recipe is over the top, but sometimes you need a showstopper for a special occasion. Plus, if you have a live crab, wouldn’t you want to showcase the shell? Speaking of indulgent, this recipe calls for the second most Washingtonian ingredient after Dungeness Crab, which is Washington State University’s gift to mankind, canned “Cougar Gold '' Cheese! Canned cheese sounds gross, you say? Well, this is the exception. It's like tinned caviar. It’s currently 33$ for a 30 ounce can. It’s basically emulsified white aged cheddar. You can sub if you want, I’d recommend Washington's favorite cheese Beecher’s Flagship (Which has its own mac and cheese recipe).
A note on the crabsters. We are going to steam these bad boys. This helps retain the fat and flavor inside the crab, and keeps the shells looking nice for presentation.
Why it works:
When thinking of Pasta choices, I was thinking of something with ridges that would hold this very creamy sauce. Then I thought, hey dummy, this is served in a shell, why not use shells? It’s a fucking funny visual joke , and kind of a throwback to the Velveeta and Shells days of the past. Shells on Shells.
Yield: 1 Gallon
Time: 2 Hours
Pairing:
References:
Equipment:
Stove Stop Steamer
Medium sauce Pan
Large boiling pot
Cutting board
Chefs knife
Ingredients:
Two live male Dungeness Crabs
1 Can WSU Cougar Gold (or 32 ounce Flagship Beachers with 2 slices American)
1 box medium shell pasta
1 Qt Heavy cream
1 qt. whole milk
1 yellow onion
2 bay leaf
8 whole cloves
white pepper corns
1 t. fresh dry ground yellow mustard powder (Colemans)
Garnish
Panko Bread Crumb
Thin sliced chives
Instructions:
Dungie Crabs are wonderful. They have a sweeter meat, and a lovely texture when cooked just right. Get a large stockpot with a steamer basket on top. Remove band and steam crabs for about 7 minutes. Let cool, and remove meat. Save cleaned body shell for plating. Make sure to scrub off under body fuzz.
Assemble Onion Pique
In Large Sauce pan, add heavy cream, whole milk, mustard powder and onion pique. Reduce by half over low heat, then stir in Cheese
Cook pasta until al dente, drain and add to cheese cream reduction.
Fold in picked crab meat
Ladle each crab shell with mac and cheese, and top with Garnish
Plating Instructions
Tasting Journal
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