Thread: Opinions...Fake crab balls stuffed pitas?

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:10:56 -0700 (PDT), pamjd <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I enjoy fake crab. I have not cooked with the real thing . My
>Grandpa alsways said if you can't afford a Cadilac don't test drive
>one . So I got to thinking if I minced it and baked or fried them
>into balls could I use it in pocket pitas with cucumber sauce and
>shredded lettuce, Or soft shell tacos. What is your experience with
>using a quality fake crab product?
>Thanks in advance.

Why do you feel you need to bake or fry it? Just use it as it is if
your going to do pitas or tacos. If you want to make balls just use a
crabcake recipe and make the balls but I don't know why you'd want to
put them in a pita. I think it would be hard to handle. It's just
processed and pressed fish and pretty good but it doesn't really taste
like crab (IMO) It's good on salad or a substitute in a crab dip
recipe. Use a crab salad recipe and stuff a tomato or avocado. Or
make a horseradish sauce and just eat it with that. For a cheaper
food it's pretty tasty. The making balls thing is confusing me
because you can buy other white fish for the same money and make
those. Sorry I can't be of more help but if you enjoy them just eat
them. I've had them as finger food dredged in seafood sauce and
enjoyed them.

This is kinda interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surimi

Lou

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:10:56 -0700 (PDT), pamjd wrote:

> I enjoy fake crab. I have not cooked with the real thing . My
> Grandpa alsways said if you can't afford a Cadilac don't test drive
> one . So I got to thinking if I minced it and baked or fried them
> into balls could I use it in pocket pitas with cucumber sauce and
> shredded lettuce, Or soft shell tacos. What is your experience with
> using a quality fake crab product?
> Thanks in advance.

The faux seafood products (krab, lubester, scrimp) don't do well cooked for
very long. I've had fried krab stix and bacon-wrapped krab sticks, and
they hold up OK when whole and cooked for a brief period, but not when
shredded/minced/flaked.

At least that's been my experience with the Louis Kemp varieties. They
really aren't a substitute for the real thing in most recipes, more
suitable for cold preps like salads.

-sw

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:10:56 -0700 (PDT), pamjd <[email protected]>
wrote:

> I enjoy fake crab. I have not cooked with the real thing . My
> Grandpa alsways said if you can't afford a Cadilac don't test drive
> one . So I got to thinking if I minced it and baked or fried them
> into balls could I use it in pocket pitas with cucumber sauce and
> shredded lettuce, Or soft shell tacos. What is your experience with
> using a quality fake crab product?
> Thanks in advance.

I tried cooking something or other with it once and it fell apart in
flakes (nasty flavor) because it's already cooked. I think if you
don't intend to reheat it much (or at all), it should be okay.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

sf wrote:

>> I enjoy fake crab. I have not cooked with the real thing . My
>> Grandpa alsways said if you can't afford a Cadilac don't test drive
>> one . So I got to thinking if I minced it and baked or fried them
>> into balls could I use it in pocket pitas with cucumber sauce and
>> shredded lettuce, Or soft shell tacos. What is your experience with
>> using a quality fake crab product?
>> Thanks in advance.
>
> I tried cooking something or other with it once and it fell apart in
> flakes (nasty flavor) because it's already cooked. I think if you
> don't intend to reheat it much (or at all), it should be okay.

Unless you buy live crabs, all the real crabmeat you get will already be
cooked. Every crabcake recipe I've ever seen starts out with cooked crab.
But you are on to something: Whether it's fake crab or real crab, it doesn't
do well being cooked much more than it already is. So if pamjd wants to make
surimi balls with a crisp exterior, she should cook them as quickly as
possible, so the heat has less chance to penetrate to the interior and
overcook the meat. That means either a batter coating or a crumb coating,
and deep-frying. Pan-frying would also work if the mixture were shaped into
disks rather than balls. For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the
mixture into thick pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with
crumbs, pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in
half to stuff into the pita halves.

Bob

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:43:14 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> The faux seafood products (krab, lubester, scrimp)....

I forgot they have trollops now, too.

-sw

On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 02:55:11 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the
> mixture into thick pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with
> crumbs, pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in
> half to stuff into the pita halves.

I wouldn't even cook it that much.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

sf wrote:

>> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick
>> pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with crumbs,
>> pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in half
>> to stuff into the pita halves.
>
> I wouldn't even cook it that much.

How would you get a crisp exterior, then?

Bob

On Aug 14, 10:10*pm, pamjd <guppy21...@aol.com> wrote:
> I enjoy fake crab. * I have not cooked with the real thing . *My
> Grandpa alsways said if you can't afford a Cadilac don't test drive
> one . * *So I got to thinking if I minced it and baked or fried them
> into balls could I use it in pocket pitas with cucumber sauce and
> shredded lettuce, *Or soft shell tacos. *What is your experience with
> using a quality fake crab product?
> Thanks in advance.

If you can stand fake crab, just make crab salad (like tuna salad) and
use it in the pitas with some lettuce, sliced tomato and maybe some
onion (like felafel).

I do confess, I have a strata recipe that uses different kinds of
seafood. When I have made it for groups, I have used fake crab and
fake lobster but I I ALWAYS use real shrimp - cut in half if they're
large or left whole if small. NO "commas" (salad shrimp). Also - I
won't eat the fake crab or lobster so I put it in sizable chunks -
then I can find it!.

Lynn in Fargo

On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:16:21 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
> >> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick
> >> pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with crumbs,
> >> pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in half
> >> to stuff into the pita halves.
> >
> > I wouldn't even cook it that much.
>
> How would you get a crisp exterior, then?
>
You wouldn't. You also wouldn't be stuck eating fried food or food
that's over cooked.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

sf wrote:

>>>> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick
>>>> pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with crumbs,
>>>> pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in
>>>> half to stuff into the pita halves.
>>>
>>> I wouldn't even cook it that much.
>>
>> How would you get a crisp exterior, then?
>>
> You wouldn't. You also wouldn't be stuck eating fried food or food
> that's over cooked.

Don't you *ever* eat crabcakes? I hardly call it "being stuck"!

Bob

On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:58:55 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
> >>>> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick
> >>>> pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with crumbs,
> >>>> pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in
> >>>> half to stuff into the pita halves.
> >>>
> >>> I wouldn't even cook it that much.
> >>
> >> How would you get a crisp exterior, then?
> >>
> > You wouldn't. You also wouldn't be stuck eating fried food or food
> > that's over cooked.
>
> Don't you *ever* eat crabcakes? I hardly call it "being stuck"!
>
I don't like them. I prefer my crab meat unadulterated.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

sf wrote:

>>>>>> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick
>>>>>> pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with crumbs,
>>>>>> pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in
>>>>>> half to stuff into the pita halves.
>>>>>
>>>>> I wouldn't even cook it that much.
>>>>
>>>> How would you get a crisp exterior, then?
>>>>
>>> You wouldn't. You also wouldn't be stuck eating fried food or food
>>> that's over cooked.
>>
>> Don't you *ever* eat crabcakes? I hardly call it "being stuck"!
>>
> I don't like them. I prefer my crab meat unadulterated.

Then you're not really the person to give advice about making fried crab
balls, are you?

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> ha scritto nel messaggio

> sf wrote:
>

> Unless you buy live crabs, all the real crabmeat you get will already be >
> cooked.

That's not true for me, vis a vis the crab pasta I made for the cookalong.
What I can buy are tiny Mediterranean crabs which are used to flavor oil for
pasta or soups, or frozen huge crab claws and legs from various oceans.
I've often been disappointed that once boiled most of what I taste is salt,
so I thawed and removed the meat raw. It really worked.
--------------------
Every crabcake recipe I've ever seen starts out with cooked crab.
----------------------
Yes, and it really should be the beloved blue crab.
--------------------------------

> But you are on to something: Whether it's fake crab or real crab, it
> doesn't do well being cooked much more than it already is. So if pamjd
> wants to make surimi balls with a crisp exterior, she should cook them as
> quickly as possible, so the heat has less chance to penetrate to the
> interior and overcook the meat. That means either a batter coating or a
> crumb coating, and deep-frying. Pan-frying would also work if the mixture
> were shaped into disks rather than balls. For use in a pita as she
> describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick pancakes just a bit smaller
> than the pita, coat them with crumbs, pan-cook them in a hot pan with
> grapeseed oil, and then cut them in half to stuff into the pita halves.
----------
What a lot of trouble for a fake food. Why not just make flavorful fish
balls using the pollack or monkfish many surimi types are made of?

On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:44:27 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
> >>>>>> For use in a pita as she describes, I'd shape the mixture into thick
> >>>>>> pancakes just a bit smaller than the pita, coat them with crumbs,
> >>>>>> pan-cook them in a hot pan with grapeseed oil, and then cut them in
> >>>>>> half to stuff into the pita halves.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I wouldn't even cook it that much.
> >>>>
> >>>> How would you get a crisp exterior, then?
> >>>>
> >>> You wouldn't. You also wouldn't be stuck eating fried food or food
> >>> that's over cooked.
> >>
> >> Don't you *ever* eat crabcakes? I hardly call it "being stuck"!
> >>
> > I don't like them. I prefer my crab meat unadulterated.
>
> Then you're not really the person to give advice about making fried crab
> balls, are you?
>
Basically, I said "don't do it". I wasn't giving any advice on how to
cook them. <shrug> I hate crab cakes, I think they ruin perfectly
good crab meat.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:17:03 +0200, "Giusi" <[email protected]>
wrote:

> What a lot of trouble for a fake food. Why not just make flavorful fish
> balls using the pollack or monkfish many surimi types are made of?

Because some people insist on using fake crab. Maybe they're allergic
to shellfish. I dunno. I only know it would be a big mistake to
recook fake crab. I used that stuff in something or other cooked a
looong time ago and it was absolutely horrible. I won't make that
mistake again.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:17:03 +0200, Giusi wrote:

> "Bob Terwilliger" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> ha scritto nel messaggio
>
> --------------------
> Every crabcake recipe I've ever seen starts out with cooked crab.
> ----------------------
> Yes, and it really should be the beloved blue crab.
> --------------------------------

represent!

your pal,
blake