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1
Place live crabs, together in a paper bag, into the freezer for about an hour.
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2
Bring a very large pot of salted water to boil.
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3
Once it reaches boiling, reduce and add as many crabs as you can and cover.
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4
Boil on medium for 25.
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5
Remove and let cool while you cook the rest of the crabs.
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6
Once cooled off, on a large clean surface begin cracking and removing the flesh from inside the crab and collect to a large bowl.
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7
Squeeze out any excess water from the crab meat and set aside to cool.
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8
Begin finely chopping the garlic, onion, celery and carrot into really small pieces.
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9
And in a large pan, lightly saute the vegetables together until tender.
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10
Add them to the bowl of crab and toss well to mix, adding salt, pepper and pinch of paprika to taste.
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11
You can add other herbs like freshly chopped parsley at this time as well but optional.
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12
Let the mixture cool to room temp.
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13
Once the mixture is cool enough, add the eggs one at a time.
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14
The egg acts as your binding agent, so one egg might be enough.
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15
Goal here is not to have the mixture too egg, but enough so that it does not fall apart when you begin cooking.
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16
Using your hands or large spoons, form the mixture into small balls and lightly flatten to make little crab patties.
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17
In a large pan, heat 1/4 inch of cooking oil.
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18
Once hot, place the patties one at a time and cook until golden brown before flipping.
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19
Approximately 2 minutes on each side.
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20
Place on paper towel to drain excess oil and then serve right away with your favorite toppings or sauce.
