I Can Buy Seafood Online? Really?!

Crab is the subject of the day. Crab is actually the reason why I decided to start this blog. It all came to me when my aunt and I started planning a well-deserved crab feast. Now being East Coast girls we decided we would rather have this crab feast with Maryland blue crab instead of Dungeness crab. Don’t get me wrong, Dungeness crab is really amazing and exceptionally cheap in San Francisco during the fall months since it is the dish of choice for Thanksgiving amongst many people out here. But we thought Maryland blue crab would be a more suitable choice for our crab feast. So my search began with researching the available sources for online purchasing of MD blue crab.

I can understand how for some purchasing your seafood online may seem a little daunting but it is not as bad as you may think. There are many fisheries that now have websites and are offering shipping for customers who are too far away. My first experience with purchasing seafood online was Christmas before last for crab actually. But this was for King Crab Legs! This was my Christmas present for my grandmother and let me just say she was eating crab legs for a few weeks. I purchased these from a fishery in Kodiak, Alaska. They were beautiful!! Huge crab legs! We actually had to break them in half before recooking them because we could not fit them in our largest pot! My grandmother loves cooking so she has some pretty big pots. The price was not dirt cheap but considerably cheaper than what I would have paid for them in the store – considering shipping from Kodiak to Virginia that was a big deal!

Now, what is the difference, you ask, between buying seafood online and buying it at the store (besides the obvious)? In my experience (as little as that may be), purchasing seafood online can be significantly cheaper, cleaner, and of a higher quality than in some stores. When you go to the grocery store to purchase, let’s say salmon, you expect for the salmon to be clean and fresh. Most of the time, if you are shopping at a reputable store, the salmon will be clean and fresh but take into consideration that even if that fillet you just purchased was freshly caught when the store purchased it for selling it was still shipped to that store, most likely thawed out, and placed in the case. Now I do not expect that there is a whole lot of time between the catch and it being sold in the store but that is still longer than I particularly like when it comes to purchasing seafood that is not something you would find in your area. Aside from getting the fishing gear and your rubber pants on and going fishing the next best thing, I think, it doing some online research. The majority of the time when you purchase your seafood online your purchase was most likely recently caught, vacuum packed, frozen, and shipped to you – therefore the fish skip the store and come right into your kitchen. Keep in mind that as with a lot of online purchasing you get what you pay for. Don’t start researching places to buy seafood online with the basis of what is the absolute cheapest. The price reflects the difficulty of obtaining the product. Remember that in some places, like Alaska, many of these fishermen (and women) are putting their lives on the line for their product.

There is a definite downside to purchasing your seafood online – you can’t actually see the specimen that you are about to buy. This can be a little disconcerting for some people. Just remember that if you are buying from a reputable company with a good track record the seafood that you buy has been thoroughly picked through for quality and freshness. Call or email the company to ask questions you do not feel entirely assured.

In my search for MD blue crab I have found that many companies will more than gladly ship live crabs…..Seems a little sketchy, right? I thought so at first but then after reading through a lot of these sites I realized that the owners emphasize that there is no guarantee that every single crab in that bushel you bought will be alive when it gets to your front door. I have found that the really good companies do not give a percentage of crabs that will be alive and they specifically state in one way or another that purchasing and shipping live crab is a risk. With that said, many of these companies do not have a price difference between live and steamed crab. Many online seafood merchants will go into great detail about how they operate including information on when and how their seafood is caught, the size differences between specimens, how they ship, when they ship, and so on and so forth.

On to the crab!

With all of this said it is time for the main point of this post – my recipe for corn and crab bisque! This stuff is amazing and addictive. The first time I ever tried corn and crab bisque was in Slidell, Louisiana at a store/cafe called Bayou Country. It was to die for. And it was obvious that the crab was fresh. How do I know? I found some crab shell in my bisque. I know, not something you want to be finding in your soup but when you use whole crab and clean it yourself it is a little difficult getting every single piece of shell. A nice big bowl of crab bisque and some crusty bread or crackers and you are set! My recipe is in no way a recreation of what Bayou Country offers but it is close and pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

Ingredients

¼ cup butter
¾ cup green onion, chopped
3 (14 oz.) cans low-sodium chicken broth*
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. liquid crab boil*
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ears of uncooked corn, kernels cut from the cob*
2 cups of heavy cream
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ cup of whole milk
1 pound of fresh lump crab meat, shell removed*

Directions

Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat [when I say large, I mean the largest pot you have]. Stir in onion; cook until soft and translucent. Pour in chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Stir in garlic, bay leaves, cayenne pepper (or Old Bay seasoning), crab boil, white pepper, salt, and pepper. Stir in corn into boiling broth. Simmer about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low.

Remove 1 cup of soup, and set aside to cool slightly (this is important!). Once cooled, pour into food processor. Add half-and-half (or heavy cream) and puree for 30 to 45 seconds. S et aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour and milk. Slowly stir the flour and milk mixture into the simmering soup. Stirring constantly, simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. The stir in puree mixture.

Reduce heat to low, stir in crab meat, and cook until warmed through about 5 minutes.

* I am not big on salt so I use low-sodium chicken broth but use what you like. You could also use vegetable stock.

* The first time I made this I had the hardest time finding liquid crab boil. It was ridiculous. I ended up using Zatarains “Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab boil – in a bag” which is pretty much grains like pepper corns and what not. But I found out recently, at Smart & Final (like Costco), that Zatarains makes a liquid crab boil. Either work. If you use the crab boil – in a bag I suggest tossing it in the food processor for a bit just to grind it all up.

* I have found recipes that call for frozen corn kernels or canned corn. I prefer fresh corn (if it is in season).

* This part of the recipe is entirely up to you on how you obtain your crab meat. You can do one of three things:

Buy lump crab meat. Many stores offer crab meat that is already picked and cleaned. With this you can purchase the exact amount that you need but you miss out on all of the fun of cracking your own crab.
Buy whole crab, clean it and pick it yourself. The problem with this is that you don’t know how much to get it. If you chose this route I suggest getting a little extra then you think you will need. You can always use the extra for crab cakes or to just nosh on. You can always ask one of the fishmongers how much he/she thinks you will need. If you do not want to clean and pick them yourself but still want to purchase whole crab some places like Whole Foods will crack, clean and pick them for you at no extra cost. Now the downfall with buying whole crab would be that you may end up with some shells in your bisque.
Buy live crab, cook it, clean it, and pick it yourself. Some people are not so fond of doing this because of the screaming (i.e. the steam forcing its way through the shells of the crab). Plus the chance of shells in your bisque.

Personally, I like buying whole crab and doing it myself. If you chose this route you will need the following: newspaper…lots of newspaper, a mallet of some sort (I suggest wood)- you may need it you may not need it, picks, crab crackers – you can find these at Williams-Sonoma and most any grocery store that sells crabs, two bowls (or one bowl and the trash can nearby) one for the crab meat and one for the shells [if you use the trash can make sure to double the bag, the shells are sharp and you do not want to cut yourself taking the trash out], instructions on how to clean and pick crab, and bandaids (trust me on this one). I suggest removing all rings, bracelets, and watches. I also suggest wearing old clothing or an apron.

I have included a video on how to pick blue crab. This is generally the method I use.

If you’re planning on having a lot of people over I suggest making a lot of this. It is a hit and people will love it. Accompaniment suggestions: salad, crostini or another crusty bread like batard, cocktail shrimp.

Remember when buying seafood online it is all a matter of research and preference. If you aren’t sure where to start try googling “Best Places to Buy Seafood” or “guides to buying seafood online”. Don’t be afraid to call or e-mail the company to ask questions. Don’t just pick the first site that looks good – look around, keep a list of the companies you are interested it with their URL and contact info. The end result is really worth the research – especially if it is for something that is not common or easily found in your area (i.e. blue crab or flounder [which is an Atlantic fish] in San Francisco).

Happy Crabbing!

Links:

Crab Boils – http://www.zatarains.com/Zatarains/Search/SearchResults.aspx?type=Product&query=crab+boil

Blue Bayou Country – http://www.bayoucountry.com/index.html

Island Seafood, Kodiak, Alaska – http://www.islandseafoods.com/

Williams-Sonoma, seafood tools (including picks and crackers) - http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/Cooks-Tools/Meat-Seafood-Tools/CtlMetSea/index.cfm?bnrid=3213401&cm_ven=NBSearch&cm_cat=GoogleC2B_Test&cm_pla=CooksToolsMeatSeafoodToolsSeafoodTools&cm_ite=crab+crackers&OVMTC=Exact&site=&creative=3917871072&OVKEY=crab%20crackers