Waste Not Want Not -- Crab Soup

During my first year of college I attended university in Washington DC at Catholic University.  The school was about 45 minutes away from my cousins who lived in beautiful Annapolis, MD.  Just about every weekend I would head up to Annapolis to work at my cousin's restaurant the Oxbow Inn. Lou Lou and PJ, my cousin and her husband, had me working as a bus boy (I preferred table engineer) and at the end of each evening of work I would have a bowl of Roberta's amazing crab soup.  The soup was not creamy crab soup, but more like a Manhattan clam chowder. Tomato base with vegetables and big hunks of crab meat. 

The restaurant has now closed, but the memory of my weekends with my cousins and the great food we always ate together lives on.  So for the last two weeks I have been recreating many of the dishes we prepared together.  I am out on Fire Island right now and have access to some great fish.  A few nights ago I purchased a whole red snapper and had the fish monger fillet the fish for me and save the carcass so I could make fish stock. I try to NEVER miss out on an opportunity to make stock from the bones of a meal.  Your food can go a very long way if you think about it.

As the stock was simmering I could smell hints of Roberta's crab soup and without any hesitation I headed back to the grocery to get the fixins for some crab soup.  We just ate the first batch last night and it was incredible.

For the fish stock
- 1 whole fish carcass (I used red snaper)
- 3 whole carrots (cleaned and peeled)
- 3 celery sticks
- 1 whole yellow onion (chopped in half)
- 1 tbsp of black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf

Combine all of the ingredients into a large stock pot, cover with water and let simmer for about 5 hours.  At the beginning of the cooking process make sure to skim off the scum from the top of the stock.

Remove from heat, strain the stock and place back on the stovetop.

Now you will need:

- 1/2 stick of butter
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery sticks, diced
- 1 can of corn
- 2 small cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Colemans mustard
- 2 tbsp Old Bay
- 1 lb of lump crabmeat
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan and sautee the garlic, without burning, for about a minute or two. Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Add the carrots, celery, corn and tomatoes and continue to cook until the veggies are cooked (they can be a little al dente). Add in the Coleman's and Old Bay and mix well.  Transfer the ingredients to the fish stock, add the crab meat and let simmer for about an hour. 

Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.  You may want to add some additional Coleman's and Old Bay, but this will depend on how spicy you want the soup to be.

Serve with crusty bread and a big glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Comments

[Your MOM]

Dear Son..
I loved the article as it brought back so many wonderful memories, of our "foodie" family, that we love to keep in our hearts.
Bobby, Tyler, Emeril, and other TV chefs would disagree with you not using the fond in the bottom of the meat pan.
I brown the meat, remove it, and add it back after lightly cooking the garlic and onion. I then use wine to get the browned bits of meat from the pan, then adding the rest of the ingredients. I"m sure your Bolognese is delicious anyway, as is your brother Ray jr's. I sometimes use all veal too, but then sometimes I use veal, beef, and pork. I certainly don't want to play favorites with my sons who are both excellent cooks. And, by the way, so is your sister Amy.