Lake Des Allemands Crab Stew

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Yields: 6 Servings

Comment:
Have your seafood supplier clean the crabs well and cut in half, keeping the large claws intact. As with most crab recipes, leftover crabs and meat from a boil can be used in this stew.

Ingredients:
1½ pounds lump crabmeat
1 dozen small crabs, cleaned and halved
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
¼ pound melted butter
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 cups hot water
2 cups diced onions
1 cup diced celery
½ cup diced bell peppers
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps sugar
1 bay leaf
salt and black pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste

Method:
Rinse halved crabs well and set aside. Spread lump crabmeat on a cookie sheet and remove all remaining cartilage and shells. In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, brown tomato paste over medium-high heat. Blend in melted butter, tomato sauce and water. Cook 5–10 minutes or until mixture is simmering. Add onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Simmer 10 additional minutes and add Worcestershire, sugar and bay leaf. Add shelled crabs to sauce and simmer approximately 1 hour. Additional water may be added if mixture becomes too thick. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. When flavor is fully developed, gently fold in lump crabmeat. Adjust seasonings if necessary and cook 5 minutes. Serve over rice or pasta. Eat shelled crabs and claws exactly as you would boiled crabs.