When asked to post to Waterbar’s blog, I got a little worried. Geez, what could I possibly bring to the table to speak of! After wracking my brain and mulling over possible ideas, a thought came to my mind: that’s it! I’ll ask Chef what he likes to cook for his family when at home! Chef, who is unbelievably busy, said that he’ll give me a recipe, but that I would have to stand in the private dining kitchen and take notes while he was cooking. Negotiating the special flooring & avoiding the boiling cauldrons in my Manolos was kind of exciting in itself! Chef told me that when his kids were 4 and 5, he and his wife Ingrid, who is also a chef, came up with this recipe because it would keep the kids busy at the dinner table for a very long time! After about 3 years, the recipe became more of a Christmas tradition for the Ulrich Family. I can’t wait to try it out and hope that you will do so too!

 Ingredients:

Dungeness crab (usually one crab for 2 people unless it is very small)

Grey Sea Salt (you can use Kosher, but, since it is processed, you lose the minerals)

Cooking oil

Butter

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to boil and add enough grey sea salt so that it’ll taste like the ocean. (about ½ cup).

Step 2: Boil crabs for 4 minutes, remove from water and place in an ice bath. You can actually do this several hours before serving.

Step 3: Clean crabs by removing shell and insides so that crabs are ready to roast. Cut the crab into individual legs.

Step 4: Drizzle oil on the crabs, place on sheet tray and place in oven.

Step 5: Roast for 10 minutes, remove & serve w/seasoned drawn butter.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: Steve Izzo, Beverage Director for Waterbar suggests serving roasted crab with an oak-aged Meursault or a well balanced Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley.

–Nita Howard – Director of Sales and Business Development