John Ash is a renowned chef, author, and
food and wine educator whom many refer to
as the “Father of Wine Country Cuisine.” In
1980 he opened his namesake restaurant,
John Ash & Company, in Santa Rosa,
California. For the last 23 years John has
cohosted The Good Food Hour, a food and
wine radio talk show in Northern California.
He has appeared on the Food Network and
other TV shows.
John Ash
Dungeness Crab in
Wine and Vermouth
Pacific Seafood Group
Recipes developed by John Ash
2 large ( 3 pounds or
so) whole cooked
Dungeness crabs
1/4 pound unsalted butter
2/3 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons thinly
sliced garlic
2 teaspoons minced
fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons
soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh
lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch,
dissolved in
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup chopped
fresh parsley or a
combination of
parsley and chives
Freshly ground
black pepper
Clean, crack and separate crab into sections and
set aside.
In a large saucepan, combine butter, vermouth,
wine, chicken stock, garlic, ginger, soy sauce,
lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch mixture. Simmer,
covered, for 5 minutes or so. Add crab, parsley and
pepper to taste, and heat just until the crab is
warmed through.
Divide into large bowls with the broth and serve
immediately. Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as
an appetizer.
Heat oil in a heavy 4-quart pot over high heat until
it registers 350°F on a deep-fry thermometer.
Preheat oven to 250°F.
While the oil is heating, stir together cornmeal,
flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. In a
separate bowl, whisk together hot sauce, eggs and
milk, then add to the cornmeal mixture and stir
until combined. Fold in crab.
Over medium heat, sauté green onions in butter
until soft. Stir into the batter.
Using 2 teaspoons and working in batches, carefully
add 1 rounded teaspoonful of batter per hush
puppy to the hot oil and fry, turning, until golden,
2-3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper
towels to drain briefly. Transfer the hush puppies to
a shallow baking pan and keep hot in the oven
while frying the remaining batter. Return the oil to
350°F between batches.
Serve immediately with tartar sauce or any
other dipping sauce of your choice. Makes 20-30
hush puppies.
Tip: You can also cheat, using any good cornbread
mix. Just follow the package directions and add
crab, green onions and hot pepper or sauce. Test
one to be sure the batter holds together. If not, add
a bit of flour.
4 cups olive or canola oil
for frying
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons
baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1-2 tablespoons of your
favorite hot sauce
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 pound Dungeness
crab meat
5 large green onions,
thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
Tartar sauce, for serving
Crab Hush Puppies
Pacific Seafood Group
