Professional bass fishing is a game of tough-to-control uncertainties, but one thing’s for sure, if you show up to Team Toyota’s Terry “Big Show” Scroggins’ house, you’re going to share great food and a ton of laughs.
His latest kitchen creation is perfect for summer and born out of a night at home with buddies Allen Anderson and Tom Willis, who worked as a chef in Denver, before returning recently to his native Florida.
“Chef Willis asked me if those oranges on the trees in my yard were any good, and if I had any crab legs,” grins Scroggins. “Sure enough I had some crab legs in my freezer, and those oranges in my yard are dang good, so all we needed was some white wine, which I had too, and the next thing you know, he’s showing me this awesome way to make crab legs for a crew of hungry guests,” he smiles.
Scroggins and Chef Willis recommend using a deep fry pan, large enough to hold three or four clusters of crab legs, along with three oranges cut in half, and about an inch-deep bath of white wine. Squeeze all the juice from the orange halves into the wine, and then let the orange halves bathe with the crab legs in the wine on a stove top for 10 minutes in medium to high heat.
“I think the citric acid helps soften the spiny shells so you can crack into them easier, and once they’ve cooked for 10 minutes, all you have to do is set them out on a big tray, sprinkle ‘em with a good dash of Old Bay seasoning, and you’ve got a super easy meal that folks can walk past, grab a leg, and have some great summer food while they’re at your pool or picnic,” says Scroggins.
“Big Show” likes king crabs best, but says their spiny legs make them a little more challenging to eat than snow crab, and adds that as far as what white wine you choose, it really doesn’t matter.
He will be choosy next week at Saginaw Bay, Michigan as a he looks to notch his fourth Top 5 finish in recent months of Major League Fishing events. For example, when he finished 5th at St. Clair last month, he felt using a smaller 3.6” MaxScent Flat Worm got him more bites than a slightly larger 4.25” version.
But when it comes to cooking up a fast and easy fun meal in the heat of summer, keep it simple. You only need four ingredients, crab legs, white wine, Old Bay seasoning, and some oranges — and if you’ve got them growing on the trees in your yard like “Big Show” does, that makes it even easier.
