I Was Feeling Crabby

I’m not really a beach guy. I go to Martha’s Vineyard on vacation every year, but sitting on hot sand watching the ocean doesn’t do it for me. Some people can do it all day; I get bored.

However, there are things about beach life that I do enjoy, in particular the cuisine. When you’re somewhere like Martha’s Vineyard, you just want to partake in that seafood fresh from the sea, throw on a side of corn on the cob, and enjoy a libation.

I basically recreated this at my house last weekend.

Taste Like Crab, Talk Like People

The day before I made smoked crab legs, I didn’t know what I was going to cook. I just stopped by the Costco and let the meat department inspire me. I happened upon some beautiful crab legs, and the eureka hit me.

If you are a loyal reader, by now you know there’s very little original going on in this amateur chef brain. I stand on the shoulders of great men – or at least whoever I can find on YouTube who has a good, easy-to-follow recipe that I think I can copy.

So I found this video from old reliable Malcolm Read of How To BBQ Right and decided this was my Sunday cook.

But before I get to the crab legs, let me talk about my side. I rarely talk about side dishes in my posts, mostly because they’re mostly basic. This day, I smoked corn on the cob.

To start, I pulled down the husks of the corn and let them soak in cold water for about two hours. After that, I spread on a mixture of:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tsp ground black pepper

They went on the smoker at 250 degrees, and after about 30 minutes, I basted them with a mixture of:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 Tsp finely chopped fresh chives

I repeated this twice after 30 minutes and then 15 minutes. After an hour and a half total cooking time, I took them off and got the crab legs ready.

I unwrapped all the legs and prepared the butter dredge:

• 1lb butter (melted)
• 2 Tbsp Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub (but you can use your favorite BBQ rub)
• 1 Tbsp Dried Parsley
• 1/2 Tsp Crab/Shrimp Boil seasoning (I actually just used a commercial Cajun seasoning for this)
• Juice from 1 ½ lemons

After the legs were all dredged, I prepared my smoker for 250 degrees with cherry wood chunks.

I put the legs directly on the grill. After ten minutes, I basted each one with the butter dredge and repeated this two more times.

These didn’t take long at all; 30 minutes and they were ready.

I served with the corn, melted butter, and lemon wedges. It was, indeed, like being at a casual seafood restaurant close to the beach (without all the people wearing ill-fitting swimsuits, yelling, and smelling of sun tan oil… did I mention I’m not a big fan of the beach?).

The verdict from my group was extremely positive. It’s always great to hear, “You can definitely make this again,” and that’s exactly what I heard that evening.

Why go to the beach when you can bring the beach to you? Follow this process, and it can be that easy!

The Wine: 2019 J. Christopher ‘Cuvee Lunatique’ Chardonnay

Usually when I have a crustacean and butter is involved, I pair it with a Chardonnay – preferably a California bottle with a creamy, buttery profile and that doesn’t taste like it was hit by an oak bomb. It turns out that I have a dearth of Chardonnay in my collection.

The only one I found was from an Oregonian producer – the 2019 J. Christopher ‘Cuvee Lunatique.’ I’m not exactly sure how I acquired this, but it’s a safe bet that it involved a visit to Collier’s of Centreville.

This definitely wasn’t your typical California Chardonnay. It was more acidic and crisper vs. creamy. Stone fruits on the nose and on the palate, slight minerality, and some citrus. While it didn’t have that buttery characteristic, the acidity paired well. After all, what do we usually do with seafood? Douse it with lemon juice!

A good match from the Willamette Valley, a region that is very much becoming a force in the wine industry. I have to say that I’ve yet to try a Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley that I haven’t loved. It’s a place in which I’d definitely like to take a wine tour someday.

A little bit about the region courtesy of Wine-Searcher.com:

Willamette Valley, in western Oregon, is one of the United States’ most important non-Californian AVAs. From the city of Portland, it stretches southwards for 120 miles…The valley follows the path of the Willamette River, a tributary of the larger Columbia River that marks Oregon’s northern border with Washington. The Cascade mountain range forms the valley’s eastern border and the Oregon Coast Range on the western edge runs between the Willamette and the Pacific Ocean.

The fertile Willamette Valley has been the most densely populated area of Oregon since pioneers began to settle in the early 19th Century. Viticulture began in earnest here in the late 1960s, when students from the University of California’s Davis campus looked north for inspiration, finding the climate in California unsuitable for Pinot Noir. In 1979, a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir beat a host of wines from Burgundy to take a place in the top three at the Gault-Millau French Wine Olympiades.

As for the producer, when visiting their website, you get an interesting story about its beginnings:

Ernst Loosen, the famed Riesling producer behind Germany’s Dr. Loosen and Villa Wolf wineries, has a lifelong passion for Pinot Noir. With many friends and a wine import business in Oregon, Erni recognized early on that there was something very special going on here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and he wanted to be a part of it.

Oregon winemaker Jay Somers was making a small-production Willamette Valley Pinot called J. Christopher when Erni met him. Erni was immediately impressed; here, he thought, was a New-World wine made in the Old-World style, with great structure and expression of terroir.

Luckily, these two found each other and began to produce some quality wines. Lucky for me, specifically. I would have been Chardonnay-less if not for this bottle!

Next up? Asian-style ribs. Sound good? Be sure to check out the next post, which might also feature a new toy.

Cheers!

Jon