The Ultimate Guide to Green Crab Stocks
6 Unique Recipes from East Coast Chefs
Stock is one of the easiest things to make from green crab and can be used as a base for sauces, soups, basting, and so much more. While green crabs might be a little bit more difficult to pick for meat compared to larger crabs and lobster, they can add a robust or delicate punch of umami, savoriness, and saltiness to a wide variety of dishes.
In their native range, green crab stock can be found in dishes such as Caldeirada de Caranguejo in Portugal to Strandkrabbebisque in Denmark. It’s also become increasingly popular among chefs in the US, featured in the New York Times and found on menus across the East Coast in pasta dishes, chowders, soups, sauces, paellas, and broths.
GJ Overmars of Tino’s in Hampton New Hampshire uses the same stock for a demi-glace served atop pan-seared cod, a crab bisque, and a Greek-style fish stew (pictured above). He’s even been known to add the stock to bread dough, mayo, and beignets.
In this guide, we share recipes from chefs across the East Coast and break down how processing, cook time, heat method, and other factors shape a stock’s flavor profile and intensity.
Cook Time: 3.5 Hours
Vegetal & Silky
Chef and GreenCrab.org Board Member Youji Iwakura specifically created this stock for green crab ramen and miso recipes. He blanches whole crabs before adding them to water with onion, kombu, fish bones, herbs, and mirin. This stock has a pretty long cook time but minimal prep. The result is a vegetal and warming stock with a silky texture.
Cook Time: 1.5 Hours
Versatile & Rich
Chef Thi Bowles of Powisset Farm likes to remove the backs and gills of each green crab which takes a little extra time but results in a more refined broth with fewer impurities. She also sautés the crabs with alliums and daikon before deglazing them with white wine and adding water and other aromatics. The result is clean but rich stock that’s a versatile base for a wide variety of dishes from her loaded baked potato with green crab gravy to her tomato and fennel pasta. She recommends using frozen crabs for this recipe if you’re skittish about shucking live crab.
Cook Time: 4 Hours
Rich & Deep
Featured in the New York Times piece “A Rich Stock for the Feast”, this simple and delicious stock from Greenpoint Fish and Lobster Co. can be used as a base for soups, risottos, or buttery sauces. They recommend cooking the stock for up to four hours but the prep is about as simple as it gets. Simply rinse the crabs, add in aromatics and water, and cook.
5. Easy Green Crab Stock
Cook Time: 2 Hours
Rich & Aromatic
This recipe uses whole green crab (untrimmed) and is a bit more robust in flavor compared to Thi Bowle’s or Youji Iwakura’s green crab stock. It’s perfect for a green crab chowder, Portuguese-style stew, or spicy pasta dish. Feel free to play around with different aromatics and seasonings to suit your desired dish.
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Robust & Crab-Forward
This recipe is quick and to the point. Whole rinsed crab is added to a stock pot with some aromatics and water, crushed, and cooked on medium heat for 45 minutes. This recipe is by no means delicate and the shorter quick time means this stock tastes more robust and crab-forward than those listed above. However, sometimes that’s what you want and it’s perfect for spicier or more acidic dishes that stand up well to crab flavor. This recipe is perfect for adding to cornbread for a stuffed green crab or a spicy soup.
Cook Time: 3 Hours
Hearty & Rich
Instead of caramelizing the crab and aromatics on the stovepot this recipe uses an oven. After roasting the crab, alliums, and seasonings in the oven we add white wine, lemon, and water. The result is a warming and hearty stock perfect for hearty and creamy dishes like She Crab Soup or Gumbo.