Hashtag Bunch: Surf 'n Turf with Crab Classic

When I cook at home, I tend to stick to the same few recipes or food combinations over and over again. This usually happens because I find something tasty that is easy and quick to prepare. For instance, I've been baking kale chips at home a lot recently. But sometimes I end up bored of the same ol' stuff. When Trans Ocean offered me a coupon to try one of their Crab Classic products, I said "Sure, why not!?" I'm always down for something new, especially when it's on the healthy side of food options! Fun facts: 100% gluten-free facility and is certified heart healthy by the American Heart Association. I invited my friend Andrea over for brunch, and we decided to try something else new - poaching eggs! A past roommate of mine used to do it often, but I've never tried it on my own. And voila! We nailed it on the first try.

Poached Egg Over Crab Legs & Roasted Veggies

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: Total: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
~ Trans Ocean Crab Classic, Leg Style
~ Eggs - Freshly-bought is best!
~ Spinach
~ Avocado  
~ 1-2 Sweet Potatoes
~ 1/2lb Brussel Sprouts
~ Suggested Extra For Poaching: 1 tbsp Vinegar, 1 tsp Lemon Juice, Salt

Andrea doesn't eat meat of any kind, so she brought a roasted veggie recipe to make as well. For the veggies, set your oven to heat to 450 degrees, and then wash both your sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Chop the sweet potatoes into small cubes (you can leave the skin on or remove it - up to you!). Cut the stems from the brussel sprouts, and then cut into halves, removing the loose leaves as they fall off. In a bowl, combine the veggies with 2 tsp of olive oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and a tsp of dried oregano. If you don't feel like cleaning up your pan later, lay aluminum foil on your baking sheet. Spread your veggies out on the sheet, and pop in the oven. Depending on your oven, they can take between 30-45minutes to roast fully. At the halfway mark, remove from the oven and gently flip the veggies and turn the pan around. 

While the veggies are firing up, get ready to poach your egg! You don't need to be in a hurry because the veggies will take at least a half hour, so drink a couple mimosas and swap girl talk like Andrea and I did! 

If you have a deep yet wide sauce pan, that would be best, but my medium-sized pot worked just fine. Fill your pot to just about 1-2 inches from the top, and begin to heat on the stove. You'll want to bring the water to an almost-boil, and then reduce to a simmer. A poached egg is essentially an egg yolk wrapped in a cocoon of the egg white, so you'll want to help the white coagulate. Ways to help this along: Adding vinegar, salt, and lemon juice to your water. Both the vinegar and juice will add flavor to your egg, so be aware you'll have a tart egg if you choose to do this. I used apple cider vinegar because that's just what I had in the cupboard. 

It's best to use eggs you've bought very recently, or as fresh as possible. I chose a carton at Schnucks that is sourced from a farm in my state, so that I know the eggs did not have to travel far. You'll also want to keep the egg cold until you are reach to poach it. To most easily slip the egg into your pan of water, gently crack the egg into a small ramekin or bowl, being careful not to break the yolk. Get your pot of simmering water ready by swirling the water into a light whirpool - this will help keep the egg in one spot while the white hardens. Slip the egg from the ramekin into the middle of the whirpool, and then lightly keep the water spinning with a spoon around the egg for several more seconds. Poached eggs take between 3-5 minutes to set, and mine definitely took a full five minutes. The water will get cloudy so you can't see what's happening, but don't poke your egg! You don't want to disturb it in any way.

My egg sank all the way to the bottom of the pot, which made me slightly panic because I thought that meant it would stick down there! After a few minutes, I carefully lifted the egg with a slotted spoon to check on it. The white was still a bit too jiggly, so I placed it back into the water and set up my plate. I made a little bed of fresh spinach and made a little stack out of the Crab Classic crab legs, and quickly realized it was in the shape of a hashtag! I decided to build a sort of big "breakfast plate" like you might order at a restaurant, so I also sliced up a fresh avocado to have on the side. By then, I figured my egg was ready.

Once again, with care, I used a slotted spoon to pick up my egg. Everything looked intact and perfect! I moved the egg into the little crab leg nest I had made, and removed the veggies from the oven. The colors all turned out to match each other, and that made me smile. I dressed up my poached egg with hot sauce as Andrea fried an egg for herself. After she was finished, we sat down and caught up over our delightful brunches. I feel like mine was my own little version of "surf 'n turf," and I enjoyed it very much!

Thank you again to Trans Ocean for inspiring me to try new things in the kitchen, which ended up with acquiring some pretty badass new egg-poaching skills! And thanks to my bestie Andrea for having fun with me on a Sunday afternoon while we made a delicious mess. 


This post was sponsored by Trans Ocean.Trans Ocean provided me with a coupon to try their product in exchange for sharing a recipe via blog post. All opinions & photos are my own.