Crab Omelet
If you’re using fresh crabs, you want to use the meatiest ones you can find, such as Dungeness crabs from the West Coast. The little blue Maryland crabs are good, too, but they are a lot of work to get the meat. I usually figure about one-third of the whole crab weight will be meat. So, for every pound of crab, you might get one-third pound of cleaned meat. If fresh crabs are not available, you can usually find freshly picked lump crabmeat at your fish market. If all else fails, frozen pasteurized canned crab will suffice. Serve with Asparagus Potato Hash (page 210).
Recipe information
Yield
serves 1
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Using a whisk or a fork, beat the eggs in a small bowl until frothy.
Step 2
Heat the butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and scallion. Sauté for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the crab and sauté for 1 minute.
Step 3
Pour the eggs into the pan, tilting the pan gently to evenly distribute the eggs over the crabmeat. Let the eggs cook and set for about 5 seconds.
Step 4
Using a silicone or rubber spatula, gently pull the cooked egg from the edges toward the center of the pan, while allowing the liquid egg to run underneath and onto the hot pan. When the sides of the omelet begin to rise up the edges of the pan, flip the omelet. It is done when it is nicely set but not overly firm. There should be traces of just-cooked egg in the center of the omelet.
Step 5
Using the spatula, fold the omelet in half and slide it onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with the tarragon and serve.
Preparing Fresh Crabmeat
Step 6
Flavorful, buttery-rich Dungeness crab must be cooked and cleaned before using. It’s some work, but it’s worth it. Boil the crab first in plenty of seasoned water (I like a good crab boil, like Old Bay) for 15 to 18 minutes, until brightly colored all over. Drain, and stop the cooking by plunging the crab into a bowl of ice water. To clean a whole cooked crab, hold the crab over a bowl to catch the juices. Then find the folding flap on the bottom; pull and twist that off. Take the crab in one hand and place the thumb of your other hand under the shell, right at the midpoint. Lift off the shell, and scrape out and discard the orange-tinted soft organs and feather gills. Holding the crab in both hands, break it in half lengthwise down the center and pull off the legs. Crack the shell with a meat mallet or a small hammer, and remove the meat, using your fingers and a fork. When the meat has been removed, pick through it once more very well with your fingers to make sure all the bits of shell and cartilage have been removed. The crabmeat is now ready to use.
Step 7
On the East Coast, blue crabs are more readily available (and less expensive). Blue crabs are in season from June to September. They are much smaller, and therefore more work than Dungeness crabs, but folks in the Chesapeake Bay area would argue that they are the tastiest crabs around. Buy umbo blue crabs, and prepare them using the same method.
