I
was never a big fan of Alaskan King Crabs, for good reasons. I do not know
where to get them, I do not know what is quality, and lastly I do not know what
is the best way to cook them. Most of what is served at home are either as a
cold entree, where the sweetness is gone probably from being frozen for too
long, or grilled, which is even worse as the delicate flesh is burned to death.
Our
lunch at Villaggio on main street Ushuaia opened a new perspective to my
otherwise stubborn, less than educated culinary mind. These babies are
displayed in an open tank, at 2 prices ... 1) Pesos 330 per kilo if you pick
your own and 2) Pesos 280 if the restaurant picks ... the equivalent of US$33
& US$28 per kilo. For our party of 9 we selected 2 at roughly 3 kilos each or
about US$100 per crab. Villaggio is frequented by locals, our kind of place and
per our waiter, there is only one way to go ... boil them and serve with wedges
of lemon. As an aside vegetarians and devout Buddhists will frown on the
process of selecting and sending perfectly vibrant crabs to its destiny, as
lunch for a bunch of gourmands from half way around the world. Why? To us
heartless and salivating foodies, the reply is, why not? Hey, it is not my
place to preach morality here, I am merely a wannabe home cook.
Glorious!
The flesh is hugely sweet, and juicy with built-in seasoning from sea water. Earlier
exposure to New England Lobster & Clam Bakes as a young man taught me to
use drawn butter with a sprinkle of salt (chopped parsley is absolutely NOT on)
as a dip. I still think it would add to the recipe here but it works just as
well with freshly squeezed lemon juice, which we did. Surprisingly there was no
roe, or crab fat, not the breeding season, perhaps? We also ordered Picada de
Moriscoes - seafood rice local style - plus soup, calamari and garlic prawns.
All lack lustre, even superfluous, as the Oscar clearly belonged to the King
Crabs a la Ushuaia!
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