Cooking with Alaskan Crab
September 17, 2009
•Le Cordon Bleu
•San Francisco
• 0 Comments
Harvested in the remote and dangerous Bering Sea, Alaskan king crab is one of the finest seafood delicacies available in restaurants throughout the world. These giants of the sea floor can grow to have a carapace nearly one foot in width and leg spans of up to six feet. Despite their great size and intimidating looks, the king crab is a tasty treat that San Francisco chefs bring to the table during king crab season.
The majority of the annual king crab harvest is of red king crab.
San Francisco Chefs Cooking with Crab
The San Francisco Bay area has a well-deserved reputation as a city with excellent seafood and seafood chefs. The legendary Cannery Row was once the home of one of the most productive fishing industries in the word. As the former home of the San Francisco fishing industry, Fisherman’s Wharf is a popular tourist attraction. Today it is home to shops, tourist attractions, and world-class seafood restaurants. This sea faring tradition is still represented by restaurants and San Francisco cooking school grads who prepare the fresh seafood caught off the coast and the Alaskan crab that is imported from the Northwest.
With a fishing season that lasts only a few weeks, cooking with king crab is becoming more difficult and more expensive. For the determined San Francisco cooking school grad, however, cooking with king crab is rewarding for both cook and customer. King crab is a perfect combination of delicate flavor, tender texture, and ease of preparation. This flavorful treat is equally at home as the star of a meal or a supporting player to salads and pasta dishes.
Seafood Chefs
Many graduates of San Francisco chef programs have learned how to prepare Alaskan crab at the side of some of San Francisco’s greatest chefs. The most well-known preparation of king crab is probably steamed king crab legs served with drawn butter or another flavorful dipping sauce. Other well-known recipes include Seafood Louie and King Crab Chowder. Replacing a lobster tail with king crab legs is a wonderful take on traditional surf and turf. Just about any recipe that calls for some type of crab can be made better with the substitution of king crab meat.
Whether you are an experienced chef or a new graduate of a San Francisco cooking school, you should try adding Alaskan king crab to your recipe book.