⅔ cup unsalted shrimp or fish stock or water
1 medium onion, chopped in bite-size squares
2 teaspoons shrimp- and crab-boil seasoning, such as Zatarain's
⅔ cup oil, preferably mild-flavored olive or roasted safflower
⅔ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
Pimiento-stuffed green olives, approximately 1 cup
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 to 8 as an appetizer
Peel the shrimp, and, if you wish, devein them. Place them in a shallow nonreactive pan or bowl.
Combine the stock or water, the onion, and the boil seasoning in a small saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and add all the remaining ingredients except the green olives. Pour the warm marinade over the shrimp, mix well, and marinate, refrigerated, at least 8 hours and preferably 24.
If you will be grilling the shrimp, lire up enough charcoal to form a single layer beneath the shrimp.
Drain the shrimp and the onions, and alternate them on skewers with the green olives. The presentation looks especially nice if you skewer one end of a shrimp, slide on an olive, and skewer the shrimp's other end, with onion sections between the shrimp. The skewers can be readied in advance and then returned to the marinade until just before cooking.
For grilling, cook the shrimp over medium-hot ashen-gray coals for a minute or two on each side, until the shrimp are just firm. Avoid overcooking them, or they will toughen. You can also broil the shrimp indoors, for the same amount of time. Serve the shrimp hot.
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Henry Ford invented charcoal briquets for home use. His original cars had a lot of wood parts, which left his plants drowning in odd, discarded bits of wood. Ford turned the pieces into charcoal and sold them through his auto dealers for use in wood stoves. The briquets didn't catch on until the 1950s, however, when backyard grilling became popular.
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Cornmeal-Crusted Fried Oysters
In most places, oyster connoisseurs eat the little bivalves raw. Contrary to a point of honor, Texans usually fry them.
1 pint shucked oysters with their liquor
1 egg
2 cups medium-grind cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
½ teaspoon salt
Cayenne to taste
Oil for deep frying, preferably canola or peanut
Sassy Seafood Cocktail Sauce ([>]) or your favorite salsa, optional
Lime or lemon wedges, optional, for garnish
Serves 4
Remove the oysters from their liquor, and drain them. Measure 2 tablespoons of the briny juice into a shallow dish, add the egg, and beat well. In a small paper sack, combine the cornmeal, salt, and cayenne.
Drop the oysters into the sack, a few at a time, and shake the sack to coat them with the cornmeal. Dip each oyster in the egg mixture, and then coat the oysters again in cornmeal.
Pour the oil into a heavy pan to a depth of at least 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350° F. Deep-fry the oysters, in batches, for 2½ to 3 minutes, depending on their size. The cornmeal coating should be medium-golden and crispy.
Eat the oysters unadorned, or serve them with cocktail sauce or salsa and plenty of lemon or lime wedges.
* * *
As Jonathan Swiit noted verily, "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster."
* * *
Pepper-Poached Oysters
The peppery seasoning in this dish heightens the lively, briny taste of a good oyster. Mark Miller, Southwest chef, introduced us to the combination of flavors, having discovered it himself in Mexico's Yucatan. The idea originated with Gulf oysters, but any large, plump variety works well. If you have the oysters shucked at the store, be sure your seafood merchant saves the bottom shells and the liquor for you.
24 large oysters with liquor (shells reserved)
1 8-ounce bottle clam juice
1½ tablespoons black peppercorns
2 garlic cloves, roasted ([>])
½ teaspoon salt
Scant ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 medium lime
Lime wedges, for garnish
Makes 24 oysters on the half shell
Drain the oysters, and pour their liquor into a small saucepan. The amount will vary depending on the particular batch of oysters and the skill of the shucker. Add enough of the clam juice to the liquor just to cover the oysters. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the oysters, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Poach the oysters about 3 to 4 minutes, or until their edges curl and they begin to plump. With a slotted spoon, remove the oysters immediately, and set them aside. Reserve the poaching liquid.
With a mortar and pestle or a mini-food processor, combine the peppercorns, garlic, salt, and allspice until they form a paste. Add two tablespoons of the oyster poaching liquid to the paste, and blend the paste.
Drop the bay leaf into the poaching liquid, and return it to a boil. Reduce the liquid to about ½ cup. Stir in the spice paste, and then add the oysters. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the olive oil and lime juice. Refrigerate the oysters in the poaching liquid, covered, for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Place the oysters on the half shells with about a teaspoon of the liquid for each. Garnish the oysters with lime wedges, and serve them.
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Technique Tip
Whether you are frying oysters, cooking them another way, or popping them raw, keep these pointers in mind in the market:
For the most tender oysters, choose those small for their species.
Oysters are highly perishable and should be shucked as close to serving time as is practical.
Shucked oysters should be plump and smell briny but not unpleasant.
If your oysters come packaged in their liquor, it should be clear, not cloudy.
* * *
Texas Blue Crab Cakes
Blue crabs get their name from the color of their shells and claws. They can be expensive, particularly away from the Gulf, but this recipe stretches a little of the succulent meat a long way.
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared creole mustard
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons crab-boil seasoning, such as Zatarain's
1 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
Several dashes of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1 pound crabmeat, picked over to remove any shells
¾ cup saltine cracker crumbs (about 1½ ounces)
½ cup minced red bell pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Makes 8 crab cakes
In a large bowl, stir together the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, pepper, salt, and Tabasco. Gently mix in the crabmeat, cracker crumbs, and bell pepper. For the ideal combination of crisp exterior and creamy interior, form eight patties ¾ inch thick.
Warm the oil and butter together over medium-high heat. Fry the crab cakes 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until they are golden. Drain them.
Serve the cakes immediately. They are so flavorful that they require little more than a squeeze of lemon juice for accompaniment.
Pan-Fried Soft-Shell Crabs
At a stage in the blue crab's development, it sheds its shell to grow a new, bigger one. At this point, It's a soft-shell crab, edible in its delectable entirety. Mike and Paul Gaido's perfect preparation of soft-shells inspired this recipe.
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
½ cup milk
2 eggs
6 garlic cloves
3 cups saltine cracker crumbs (about 6 ounces)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 soft-shell crabs
Serves 4
In a shallow dish, stir the flour together with the oregano, salt, and pepper. In a second dish, mix together the milk and eggs. In a food processor, mince the garlic. Add the cracker crumbs to the garlic, and process until the crumbs are ground fine. Transfer the crumbs to another dish.
In a large, heavy skillet, warm the butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Dip each crab lightly first in the flour, next in the egg mixture, and then in the cracker crumbs. Add the crabs to the skillet, in two batches if necessary, and pan-fry them 6 to 8 minutes, turning them once.
Drain the crabs, and serve them immediately.
* * *
In their delightful book Eats: A Folk History of Texas Food, Ernestine Sewell Linck and Joyce Gibson Roach offer a trove of Lone Star lore related to cooking and eating. The old-timers, according to their research, said you should go fishing when the bluebonnets are in bloom, the cows are grazing, and the west wind is blowing.
* * *
ABC Sandwich
A sandwich good enough for a dinner entrée, the ABC was a specialty at the now-defunct pittman House Restaurant in Dallas. Maybe the initials should be reversed, since the avocado and bacon play supporting roles for C, the crab star.
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons brandy
¼ teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
18 slices toasted whole-wheat bread
Leaf lettuce
12 ounces crabmeat, picked over well to remove any shells
Tomato slices
12 slices slab bacon, cut in half, cooked crisp, and drained
2 avocados, sliced
Makes 6 sandwiches
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, green onion, and brandy, mixing well.
For each sandwich, spread three pieces of bread with a portion of the mayonnaise mixture. Cover the first slice of bread with lettuce leaves, 2 ounces of crabmeat, and one or two tomato slices. Add the second slice of bread, and top it with four half-slices of bacon, a layer of avocado slices, another tomato slice or two, and more lettuce. Cover with the third slice of bread, secure the sandwich with toothpicks, if you like, and slice it in half.
Serve the sandwiches immediately. Try them with a side of Rangerette Sweet Potato Chips ([>]).
* * *
"He can catch more fish in a given time than any ... ordinary liar I have met. The gigantic bass, the enormous trout, the tremendous catfish, that he has hooked, and that eventually got away [would] fill six refrigerator cars, besides all the men, women, and children in Southwestern Texas."—Alex Sweet and John Knox, describing a typical fisherman, in On a Mexican Mustang Through Texas.
* * *
Boiled Crawfish
Kids all over Texas used to fish for "crawdads" with a piece of string and a small hunk of fat, sometimes cooking the tails on tin-can lids over a fire down by the creek. These dags, the feasters are more likely to be adults, perhaps at a crawfish boil, a common food event in the southeastern part of the state.
10 pounds live crawfish
2 oranges, cut into thick rounds
2 lemons, cut into thick rounds
1 garlic head, cloves separated and peeled
¼ cup salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder, preferably homemade ([>]) or Gebhardt's
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 bay leaves
8
to
12 small new potatoes
4 ears corn, cut in half
1 pound small boiling onions
Salt, fresh-ground black pepper, and cayenne to sprinkle over the crawfish and vegetables
Serves 4
Rinse the crawfish well. To make sure you remove all the mud or debris, put them into a large pot or bucket of water, and let them sit for about 30 minutes. (You can skip this soaking process if your crawfish are farm-raised and "purged" of mud.)
While the crawfish bathe, pour 4 to 5 gallons of water into a large stock pot. Add to it the oranges, lemons, garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, and bay leaves. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the spices 10 to 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, and onions. After the liquid returns to a boil, cook the vegetables for 5 minutes.
Drain the crawfish from their soaking bath, and add them to the stockpot. After the liquid again returns to a boil, cook the crawfish for 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the crawfish and vegetables steep in the liquid for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid from the pot.
Serve everything heaped on big platters, with plenty of newspapers on the side to soak up drippings from the ritual of peeling and eating, all done with the fingers. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and cayenne over the crawfish and vegetables as you eat, and, after you break off the tails, be sure to suck the fat from the crawfish heads. It's a gloriously messy feast.
* * *
The fat in the heads of crawfish is so rich and delicious that it can be substituted for an equal amount of butter in most crawfish dishes. In Texas and Louisiana, sucking the heads for the juice is a risqué ritual, not to be missed.
* * *
* * *
Technique Tips
Freshwater crustaceans related to lobsters, crawfish have a texture similar to shrimp, which can be substituted for them in our recipes. The flavor of crawfish is distinctive, however, so they are worth seeking out. From November through early summer, try to find them live, although whole blanched crawfish also work well. If a recipe calls for crawfish tails and you want to start from whole crustaceans, buy about five to six pounds for every pound of tails required. The shells are tougher than a shrimp's, but soft enough for most people to crack and peel with their hands. Save the shells for stock.
Buying crawfish tails, already blanched and peeled, takes care of much of the work, but you lose the head fat. Avoid blanched tails that are uncurled, an indication that the crawfish were already dead when cooked. Frozen crawfish can be good, but sometimes taste a little rancid.
* * *
* * *
Texas towns like to crow about their catches. At least three Gulf coast burgs host annual festivals honoring crawfish; Fulton stages the Oysterfest; Crystal Beach salutes crabs; and Orange sponsors the International Gumbo Cook-off.
* * *
Gaido's Deviled Crawfish Balls
The Gaido brothers offer a bounty of crawfish preparations at their landmark Galveston restaurant. This is a home-style version of one of their best.
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons cajun chef hot sauce (see below) or 1 to 2 teaspoons other hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne
3 cups coarse-ground white bread crumbs
1 pound blanched crawfish tails, chopped
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Oil, preferably canola, for deep frying
Makes about 2½ dozen balls, enough for 5 to 6 appetizer servings
Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté them until they are soft. Stir in the hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne, and then the bread crumbs and crawfish tails. Taste the mixture, and add salt and pepper as desired. Remove the pan from the heat. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls, and roll them in the flour to coat them lightly.
Heat the oil to 350° F in a heavy high-sided saucepan. If the oil smokes before reaching the correct temperature, it cannot be us
ed for deep frying. Use only fresh oil. Fry the balls in batches to avoid overcrowding them.
Cook the balls until they are golden brown, drain them, and serve them immediately.
* * *
No matter how many dictionaries you're toting with you, don't call a crawfish a "crayfish" along the Gulf coast. If you do, you'll probably have to suck a few heads in public to prove you're OK.
* * *
* * *
Technique Tip
Cajun Chef is the brand of hot pepper sauce the Gaidos prefer. Although similar to Tabasco, it's slightly milder and less acidic. Both sauces are distributed nationally, but Cajun Chef isn't as common. If you substitute Tabasco, start with about half the recommended amount.
* * *
Crawfish Étouffée
Étouffée means "smothered," a preparation that Cajuns perfected.
¼ cup oil, preferably canola or corn
¼ cup unsalted butter
Texas Home Cooking Page 27
