Crab Chowder Recipe
Fire up this Crab Chowder recipe in camp and impress your friends with your backcountry cooking skills. Before you hit the trail, bark some creamed sweet corn, pop your crab meat and vegetables into the food dehydrator, and bag it.
The saucy base ingredient for this recipe is Corn Bark. To make Corn Bark, run a can of creamed sweet corn through a blender and dehydrate it into chips. For pictures and instructions, see How-to-Make Corn Bark.
I’m almost ashamed to say that I don’t use real crab meat in this Crab Chowder recipe. But, don’t let that stop you from using the real thing. Just cook your crabs in the usual way and dehydrate the meat as described below. Imitation crab meat usually comes in one pound bags found in a refrigerated case near the seafood department. Buy the chunk style.
Don’t forget the celery! Be sure to include at least a tablespoon or two. I slice celery stalks in half long ways and then cross- cut into eighth to quarter inch thick pieces. Dehydrate at 125° for six to eight hours. Celery loses most of its original volume when dried and therefore a small quantity will flavor your meal nicely.
Ingredients:
- ½ Cup Corn Bark
- ¼ Cup dried crab meat
- ¼ Cup dried vegetables- celery, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers
- 1 Cup water
At Home:
Dehydrating Crab Meat:
Separate the meat chunks into smaller pieces, spread out on dehydrator trays, and dehydrate at 145° for approximately six hours. Crab meat will snap apart when completely dry. If it bends, put it back in the dehydrator.
Do you like jerky? Dehydrated crab meat makes a great high-protein snack all by itself. Even though it’s dry for a couple of seconds when you put a pinch in your mouth, you get a good flavorful chew out of it.
See dehydrating vegetables for more information about dehydrating onions, tomatoes, and peppers.
Pack all ingredients in a 4 x 6 plastic bag.
On the Trail:
Combine ingredients in pot with one cup water and soak for five minutes.
Light stove, bring to boil, and continue cooking for one minute.
Remove pot from stove and place inside insulating cozy for ten minutes.