We're going to make a delicious crab taco bite. It's a crab salad with a crab cream made from the head and trimmings, a ponzu jelly and a onion tuille.
How to prepare and clean the crab
First take the crab and turn it upside down. Now use a chefs knife to make an incision in the head and then directly press it down all the way to kill it. Then twist the claws and legs off. Now keep the head in your fridge for later. Then bring a saucepan with water to a boil and season it with a generous amount of salt. When the water is boiling boil the legs for two minutes and the claws for 4 to 6 minutes depending on the size. Then cool everything down in ice water. After that separate the legs on the joint and keep the thin part of the legs for later. Then cut the top from the thick part and use a tweezer to press the meat out of the shell. Once that’s done clean the claws. For that first separate the claws from the elbows. Use the back of a knife if necessary and the scoop the meat out of the shell with the back of a spoon. There this little finger on the claw and break the joint to pull it out. The break the claws with a knife or pan and remove the crabmeat. Once that’s done use your fingers to check the meat for any shell parts of swords and then keep the crabmeat in your fridge for later.
The crab cream and seasoning the crab salad
| The crab head |
3 | onions |
Half a bulb | garlic |
200 grams | white wine |
100 grams | Pernod |
For that first break the head open and remove the death man’s fingers. Then chop the head in smaller pieces and empty the shell of the head. Now heat up a pan, add a splash of oil and panfry all the crab trimmings and the chopped crab head. Meanwhile cut the onions and half and clean them. Now chop them. Then cut the garlic in half and add both to the panfried crab. Pan fry this for a couple more minutes and then deglaze it with the white wine and the Pernod. Reduce this completely and then cover everything with water. Let it simmer for 45 minutes. After that drain the broth and be sure to let it drip so you don’t waste a single drop. Now let it reduce for 90% till it’s a thick reduction and it’s super flavorful.
30 grams | crab reduction |
10 grams | lime juice |
10 grams | mustard |
30 grams | egg yolk |
2 grams | salt |
150 grams | neutraal oil |
Pour 30 grams of the crab reduction in a blender together with the lime juice, the mustard, the egg yolk, the salt and the neutral oil. Now blend this till it’s a smooth cream. Then transfer it into a piping bottle and use it to season the crab meat. Also season with lime zest and salt. Mix this and then keep it in your fridge for later.
The ponzu
120 grams | mirin |
30 grams | rice vinegar |
20 grams | kombu |
4 grams | bonito flakes |
70 grams | soy sauce |
60 grams | lime juice |
First mix the mirin with the rice vinegar and the kombu. Bring this to a simmer. Then turn off the heat, add the bonito flakes and let it marinade for 10 minutes. After that pass it through a fine sieve and season it with the soy sauce and the lime juice. Mix this and you’ll end up with a delicious lime ponzu.
The ponzu jelly
1 leaf or 1.6 grams | gelatin |
100 grams | orange juice |
100 grams | ponzu |
1,5 grams | agar powder |
First soak the gelatin in cold water. Meanwhile pour the orange juice in a saucepan together with the ponzu that we just made. Also add the agar powder. Then mix it and bring it to a boil. Once it has boiled turn off the heat and dissolve the soaked gelatin. After that spray a thin layer of oil spray on a metal tray. Now pour 50 grams on each tray and let it set for 5 minutes. Then let it cool down completely in your fridge and then cut it with a round cutter.
The onion powder
First clean two onions. Now chop them and then spread it on a metal tray. Then use a blowtorch to toast the top. When that’s done let it dry at 60 degrees Celsius for a couple hours. After transfer it into a blender and blend it into a fine powder. Keep it for later.
The tuille
60 grams | egg white |
40 grams | oil |
10 grams | butter |
40 grams | sugar |
6 grams | salt |
50 grams | flour |
Mix the egg white with the oil, the butter, the sugar, the salt and the flour. Then blend this till smooth. After that spread it on a silicon mold. The mold I’m using here is from Mold Brothers. Then dust a thin layer of the onion powder on top and bake it at 150 degrees Celsius for around 15 minutes till golden. After that when still hot gently remove the tuille from the mold and place it upside down on a taco holder. Put it back into the oven for 5 minutes and then shape it to the desired shape.
How to finish the dish
First gently place the jelly in the taco. After, fill it with the crab salad and cover it with a thin layer of the crab cream. Then transfer it on a plate and decorate the top with marigold flowers and thyme flowers.