Crab Meat Stuffed Shrimp

Stuffed Shrimp is another Cajun restaurant favorite of mine only second to Crabmeat Au Gratin.  The best stuffed shrimp I have found in Baton Rouge (besides making at home) is found at The French Market Bistro.  Two of their Jumbo Stuffed Shrimp and French Fries and you are so full.  In fact you’ll need a nap.

We had fun making these Stuffed Shrimp at home with my Godchild Ashley and her sister Amanda.  They love to help me in the kitchen.  I am glad they are interested.  My grown children do not know how to cook unless it goes in the microwave or comes out of a can.  So find time to spend with your kids or grand-kids in the kitchen.  Let them get messy.  It’s all in good fun and they will remember you for taking the time with them. Cajun cooking is fun.

Let get started because there are 3 steps here:

Ingredients for Crab Meat Stuffed Shrimp

12-16 large or jumbo size fresh shrimp
½ pound white or claw crab meat
1 package Shrimp/Fish Fry or corn flour
1 cup plain or Italian bread crumbs
2-3 eggs
1 cup Cajun Trinity with 1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ teaspoon each:  Worcestershire sauce, Tony’s Creole Seasoning, yellow mustard, and parsley flakes.
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Oil for frying
Lemon
Butter
Milk for egg wash
Platters
Mixing Bowls
Deep fat fryer

The Crab Stuffing

With a tablespoon of butter, sauté the 1 cup Cajun Trinity and minced garlic.

Pour into a medium size mixing bowl.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, Tony’s Creole Seasoning, yellow mustard, parsley flakes, and one egg.

Fold in the breadcrumbs and crabmeat.  Mix well.

Form the mixture in small meatball sized balls.  Place on a platter.

Refrigerate for approximately one hour to chill and become firm.

The Shrimp

Peel, clean and de-vein the shrimp.  Leave the tails on.  Carefully make a deep cut in the shrimp to butterfly it open.

Prepare your egg wash by mixing 1-2 eggs with a ¼ cup or so of milk and squeeze in some lime or lemon juice.

Prepare the Shrimp/Fish Fry by mixing in ½ teaspoon seal salt and 2 tablespoons Tony’s Creole seasoning.

Place a crab ball on the open shrimp.  Press firmly.

Dip in egg wash.  Shake off excess.

Place in the Shrimp/Fish Fry mixture and toss around to coat.  Place on a platter.

The Frying

Heat your oil.  Do not put drops of water in the hot oil to see if it’s hot enough like Mike Stokes does!

Carefully place 2-3 shrimp in the fryer (depends on what size fryer you have).

Fry the shrimp until golden brown.

Remove to a platter lined with an ample amount of paper towels.

Serving Suggestions for Crabmeat Stuffed Shrimp

Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon or lime and sides ketchup, tartar sauce, or my favorite hot cocktail sauce for dipping.  Um Um they were so good cher!

Cooking Louisiana Blue Crabs

Louisiana Blue Crabs are available in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The word for Blue Crab in the Greek means beautiful swimmer and savory. Louisiana Blue Crabs are also known for a sweet and hearty texture. I personally love the claw meat of Blue Crabs, but the lump white crab meat is certainly the best.

On this sunny day in August, we visited the Folse & Company Seafood Market in Gonzales, Louisiana. It had been about 20 years since I actually boiled my own crabs. Usually, it is so easy to get boiled crabs at local restaurants.

We recommend about 2-4 crabs per person depending on the size. Of course, we only buy the best grade #1 crabs, so they are rather large and full of incredible meat.

 Getting Started with Your Louisiana Blue Crabs

Buy fresh local live crabs.  Once home place the crabs in a large basin or bucket and cover with ice.  The ice stuns the crabs and miraculously keeps the claws from falling off during the boiling process.  Soak for 30 minutes.

Prepare a large stock pot with boiling water.

Add seasonings:
2 large sweet onions, quartered
Several whole garlic pods, cut in half
3-4 Bay leaves
2-4 tablespoons Zatarain’s Liquid Shrimp & Crab Boil (I use about 4 ounces – Mike)
Salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar (helps crabs peel easily)
lemon or lime juice.

Carefully place the crabs in the boiling water.  Boil about 15 minutes.  The crabs instantly turn a vibrant red once placed in the boiling water.  Turn off the heat.

Remove the crabs and serve.

If you want to let the crabs soak in the water in order to soak up the wonderful seasonings, place cold water or more ice on top of the crabs in order to stop the cooking process.

Eating Louisiana Blue Crabs

You can do this in any order you like, but this is just how I was taught to eat crabs as a little girl at the age of 8.  There would be about 10 family members sitting all around this large dining table in the dining room of my Aunt Linda’s house in New Orleans.  Newspapers were spread the entire length of the table and each person had a plate and a little bowl for dipping with either butter or ketchup.  What a wonderful memory.

How to Eat Louisiana Blue Crabs

Take the crab in one (be careful of the hard prickles on the shell). Carefully pull the legs out right at the join closet to the body. Some good meat will come out. Don’t be shy to pull the meat through your teeth and suck out the juice.

Next, turn the crab over and pull open the crabs private part. Grasp the bottom of the body in one hand and the top shell in the other and pull apart. Discard the top shell. Then, pull the lungs and other yucky guts items off. You should be left with 2 compartment separated by much thinner shell membranes.

Using a sharp knife carefully cut the compartment in half. Then, make a cut lengthwise on each compartment to reveal the sweet, savory white meat. Pull out the lump crab meat and work your way through the other smaller membranes.

Now for the legs – break apart the legs at each joint. Sometimes the meat will come right out. Other times you need to use crab crackers or nut crackers to open up the segments.

My favorite part is the claw. I always save it for last. Delicately crack right in the middle and once at the place where the claws start. You should be able to peel the shell off and reveal a big, full claw. Take the claw into your mouth and pull between your teeth. Now that’s some good stuff Cher!

P.S.: My first and last time that I cooked live crabs, I was 23 years old and still wet behind the ears when it came to cooking. We lived on a small island in northeast Florida – Amelia Island. A local seafood market had a sign for “Dozen Crabs – $12.00”. I thought, “Wow, I love crabs and I can figure out how to cook them.” So, I bought a dozen crabs. I didn’t realize that they were LIVE. I thought crabs were like fish and already dead.

Needless to say, to my surprise these things were all rustling about in the paper bag. I get them home and I no idea what to do with them. So, I call my mom back in Louisiana. She tells me to pour them in the sink and soak them in salt water. I thought that was just for crawfish, but I attempted it anyway. I took the bag and dumped them in the sink. Oh my gosh, they were rustling about and trying take off running on the counter.

One fell on the floor. I was hopping around like firecrackers were going off. My golden retriever was having a good time playing with one.

Well, I managed to boil and season some water and one by one placed the poor innocent crabs into the boiling hot cauldron and saying sorry to each of them. My Cajun cooking beginnings, lol.

They must have been good for I remember this crazy story. C’est la vie!