European and American cuisine

Crabs Boiled. — Buy the crabs alive, and let them lie in cold water until their bath is prepared. Place a kettle with salt water over the fire, allowing 2 tablespoonfuls salt to 1 gallon of water, and as soon as boiling put in the crabs, taking one at a time on a shovel, or take hold of them with a pair of tongs, for if the crabs are large they will bite and any one not used to handling them might be badly hurt The water should be boiling while the crabs are put in, and too many should not be boiled together. A good plan is to put a red-hot poker into the water after some have been put in. As soon as the crabs have assumed a fine-red color take them out with a skimmer, put in a large pan or dish, and let cool off. In extracting the meat, remove the upper shell from the under, pull off the feathery parts from the sides, and remove the greenish substance. These are the only portions that are uneatable ; pick out all meat, crack the claws, pick the meat also from them, and use as directed in following recipe. Crab Ragout, No. 1. — Boil 6 hard-shell crabs ; when cool enough to handle extract all the meat, and set aside. Prepare 12 fish forcemeat balls, boil them in salted water ; place 12 freshly opened oysters with their liquor over the fire, boil 3 minutes, then take the oysters out of their liquor. Melt 1 tablespoonful butter, add 1 tablespoonful flour, stir and cook 3 minutes without browning ; add 1 cupful white bouillon, ⅜ cupful of the oyster liquor ; season with 1 even teaspoonful salt, ⅜ teaspoonful white pepper, y^ pint small canned mushrooms, and a small bouquet, boil 5 minutes ; remove the bouquet, boil 10 minutes longer. Mix the yolks of 2 eggs with the juice of ½ lemon, add it to the saucepan, adding also the oysters and the crab meat, and heat it till nearly boiling ; then re- move from fire, add 3 tablespoonfuls cream ; put the forcemeat balls on an oblong warm dish, pour the ragout over, and garnish with fillets of fish, rice, or noodle border.. Devilled Crabs. — Drop 6 hard-shell crabs into boiling water, and boil 12 minutes ; remove with a skimmer, and when cold open and pick out all the meat ; place a saucepan with 1tablespoonful butter and 3tablespoonfuls fine-minced white onion over the fire, add 1 crushed clove of garlic, and cook for 5 minutes ; add 1 cupful chicken or veal broth ; season with ⅞ teaspoonful salt, ½ even teaspoonful English mustard, 1 cupful fine-chopped mushrooms, 1 teaspoonful fine-chopped parsley, and the crab meat; stir and cook 15 minutes ; remove to side of stove, add the yolks of 3 eggs, and stir a few minutes. Divide this mixture into 6 well-cleaned crab shells, smooth with a knife, and Sprinkle over each ¼ teaspoonful fine bread crumbs and ½ teaspoonful melted butter. Lay the shells on a shallow tin pan, and bake till light brown in a hot oven. Serve at once on a dish, garnish with water cresd or parsley, or serve in the folds of a napkin. SOFT-SHELL CRABS. In season from May till October. The soft-shell crabs are nothing more than hard-shell crabs after shedding their shell.