Crab and Casa Madero wine. Come and get it!
Join us at Tacolicious North Beach on Tuesday, January 7, for the ultimate crab and wine feast. We’re celebrating the debut of Casa Madero—Mexico’s oldest and most excellent winery—into the U.S. In fact, Tacolicious will be the first restaurant to serve it.
For this special evening, the likes of tacos and tostadas will be set aside. Instead, after a little socializing fueled by apps and wine, family-style tables will be laid with newspaper, cold Casa Madero Chardonnay will be poured, a chopped salad will be passed, and a mountain of roasted Dungeness crab—aromatic with fennel, chili, thyme, and garlic (Joe’s specialty)—will be the centerpiece. This is a 10 napkin affair. So please, leave your gowns at home. We recommend dungarees.
If you need a last minute gift for someone, this is it.
Tickets are $99. To purchase them, and for more details, click here.
Should you want to make your own crab, here’s the “secret” recipe, courtesy of chef Reed Hearon, formerly and famously of Restaurant Lulu back in the day when Joe was their general manager. But we’d much rather see you in person.
Reed Hearon’s Crack Crab
This recipe is slightly rough, but a little more or a little less of the seasoning won’t make a difference. Though it calls to grill the crab, we often choose to stay inside where it’s warm and roast it an oven at 500 degrees for around 10 minutes.
Serves 4
4 live crabs, about 2 pounds each
4 big pinches of chili flakes
4 big pinches of fennel seeds
1 small handful of fresh thyme, stemmed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon of kosher salt (more or less)
Enough olive oil to make a wet rub
To prepare the live crab for the grill, place them in boiling water for 3 minutes a piece, just enough to kill them but not enough to completely cook the crabmeat. (Cover the pot so you don’t have to look.) When the crabs have cooled, remove the crown and clean out all the guts and butters. Halve, then quarter. Use a hammer to break the legs just so that they’re cracked enough to let in all the flavor from the aromatics seep in, but not so that they’re destroyed. Place on a sheet tray.
To make the rub, take all the ingredients and place them in a mortar and pestle and pound. Alternatively, place in a spice/coffee grinder and grind until a nice, damp paste has formed. Slather the crab pieces in the paste, adding more olive oil if necessary to lubricate.
Get a grill as hot as possible and place the crab directly on it. Close the cover and grill for 2 minutes. Open it back up and brush on whatever remaining rub you have and close the lid again. Grill for 10 minutes more until nice and charred. Serve with lemon, although it really needs nothing more.