Basic crab stew recipes generally include a few everyday spices and a few everyday vegetables. Most recipes also use chicken stock rather than fish stock, which can be hard to find. But, when making gourmet seafood stew for your own family, nothing but the best will do.
You can make basic crab stew on the stove, or you can use a crockpot and slow cook it for several hours. Either way, it's delicious and perfect for when eaten in front of a fireplace on a cold winter evening.
Crab Stew Recipe
Ingredients You Will Need:
1 pound frozen crab meat
4 cups fish stock (see recipe below)
1 16-ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 can kernel corn
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 spice bag (see recipe below)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
Set the frozen crab meat into a shallow dish, and set aside. Combine all other ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring it to a boil. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat, and simmer for about a half hour.
Remove the bay leaves, and add the crab meat to the stew. Simmer the stew until the crab is fully cooked. Do not serve undercooked, but take care not to overcook the stew, either. Serve with thick slices of bread.
Fish Stock
Ingredients You Will Need:
2 pounds of fish (heads and tails optional)
1 large onion
½ cup celery, including leaves
½ lemon, sliced
Whole cloves
Whole black peppercorns
Parsley
Salt
Boil all ingredients in about eight cups of water. Simmer for about one hour, stirring often. Strain the stock, discarding fish and bones.
Spice Bags
Spice bags can be made with cheesecloth, intended to be placed into the stew and withdrawn-bag and all before serving-or to be opened up and dumped into the stew when you make it. Use one tablespoon of each of the following spices: rosemary, thyme, parsley, saffron, black pepper and garlic salt.
When cooking crab stew, some people add saffron to make it more exotic. While saffron is not necessary in crab stew, this spice gives ordinary stew a new and different taste. When cooking with saffron, use only a pinch. The flavor will be more intense the second day.
 | Stews cook slowly at a simmer, so the temperature never gets high enough to release the flavors from the meat. The key to making good stew is browning the meat carefully in batches to ensure the best flavor. |
 | Making delicious vegetable stew is as easy as picking a handful of vegetables from your garden. You can add some chicken broth, hot sauce or chili pepper, but it's best to let the veggies stand alone. |
 | Oxtail stew is not popular today because many people aren't interested in the tail of the ox or cow, which is unfortunate because oxtail stew recipes are delicious. |
Stew meat is perfect for stews, of course, but it can also be used in many other dishes. These recipes will help you cut down on your meat budget while eating well. |
Dumplings are a perfect addition to warm beef or lamb stew. There are quite a few dumpling variations you can make or you can try to mix and match depending upon which stew recipes you've decided to cook. Experiment with different types of dumplings to see which kind you and your family prefer. |
