Beyond Fish: Delicious Dishes Using Crab Meat

The Alaska Dungeness Crab makes its home in the clean, cold waters off the coast of Alaska, where it lives in the seaweed, eating happily and growing to a respectably large size. Known for its succulent meat, which manages to be both tender and sweet, there is little one needs to do to prepare it other then steam it and serve with some melted butter or a little squeeze of lemon. But aspiring gourmets and professional foodies won't let a naturally delicious meat stop them from getting creative. Here are a couple of ways to think outside of the box--or shell.

One fabulous culinary idea with a bit more flair is to substitute crabmeat where one would traditionally find fish in a recipe. Fish tacos are a hit all up and down the West Coast, and if you have a few Alaska Dungeness Crabs on hand, there is no reason not to spice up your fish taco with some crab. Throw on some lime instead of lemon, and get an end result that will have all dinner party guests raving about the meal and asking for the recipe. With the sweet flavor of the meat, there's no need to bury the taco in sauces or cheese, as the succulent crab taste should always remain front and center.

Here's another recipe for bringing out the southwest flavor in a delicious crab dinner. Depending on how many you are serving, you will want to start out with at least a couple of pounds of cooked and cleaned Alaska Dungeness Crab meat. Start by sautéing two diced onions and four cloves of garlic. For those who like spice, throwing in a single jalepeno pepper, with butter, is a nice idea, too. Once the onions become transparent, you can add your crab meat. Cook this all for about 10 minutes.

Next, add one bunch of chopped cilantro, two tablespoons of ground cumin, and the juice from two limes. Thoroughly mix this all together, and let the meat soak in the flavors of the herbs and spices. Then, remove from heat and cover. Once cooled, spoon over toasted tortillas and top with your favorite salsa. It's a whole new take on tacos that will leave guests practically salivating.

Looking for wonderful Alaskan Seafood recipes? Check out great meals to make for your family from ASMI, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Check out the ASMI Facebook page for more information on Alaska Seafood!