We’re enjoying another fabulous season of fresh blue crabs from the creek. We keep two pots in the creek that runs behind the house and work them religiously as I think Jack’s most favorite food in the entire world is fresh steamed crabs. We pulled out 47 jimmies yesterday afternoon and steamed 'em up to take to a gathering where the crabs were the definite hit of the event. Jack put them in a cooler between layers of newspaper, and they were piping hot when we dumped 'em on the table about a half hour later.
I noticed they were cleaned before they were steamed. Any particular reason? I’ve always cooked them alive, and was always told to do so. They really look delicious though.
I noticed they were cleaned before they were steamed. Any particular reason? I’ve always cooked them alive, and was always told to do so. They really look delicious though.
If there’s grass on the feild, play ball!
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OK, don’t freak out… We ice them down as soon as we take them from the pots to slow them down before cleaning them alive. It’s kinda wierd to see them still moving although the pop tops and guts are all gone! We rinse them thoroughly so they’re good and clean. They’re still wiggling when they go into the steamer[:0]
A crabber buddy of ours from McClellanville showed us this “trick” many years ago!
They were mighty tasty and absolutely FULL of meat, Bonzo! Jack has the crab cooking down absolutely perfect, too. DO NOT BOIL! Steaming is the ticket! We used the oyster cooker/steamer since we had so many last night. Usually, we’ll just use a stock pot with a steamer insert over the propane burner…
Those look picture perfect for sure…we always just boiled ours intact (grandma always said that like shrimp heads its the insides that make it good) with old bay and some other seasonings southern style in a big ol’ pot…then it was picking time… Its strange but while I love deviled crab (and will fight you over a peeler or soft shell crab) donnie and i neither one really care for just" pic and eat" crabs much…but my dad likes them. I did bring a few home from my dads last night though to freeze for soe big fat fish to eat:)
Ive never known anyone who liked crabs as much as Andi;s jack does…think he could eat them everyday.
man that looks good! haven’t had crabs like that since I lived in PA and spent every weekend in South Jersey!
mmmm looks really good, makin’ me hungry!
Yankee sand flea on a Southern beach.
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Can you give us some instructions on the steaming process???
How long do you steam them (assuming we are using a pot on the grill burner like you mentioned)
Do you add anything to the water that you are boiling to steam? Seasoning, etc.
Anyother tips you might have for newbies to the area who are interested in trying this local delicacy.
Thanks in advance!!!
Sorry to have disappeared for a bit… Had to get away from the heat! Back now…
Let’s see, to answer your question about steaming time you just need to steam the crabs 'til the shells turn bright red. You don’t want to over cook them as the meat will be tough and difficult to remove from the shells. We add a splash of white vinegar to the steam water and sprinkle the crabs, bellies up, generously with Old Bay Seasoning right before turning on the heat.
The key is steaming the crabs and not letting them come in direct contact with water. If you have some leftover, they can be easily refrigerated and microwaved just a few seconds to reheat…
We’re gonna try out hands at curried crabs some time soon, so stay tuned!
Edit to say that the crabs in this post looked great. I went crabbing yesterday and steamed some last night as a direct result of reading this post!
Question about cleaning crabs . . . once you clean them after icing them and stunning them, how long can you keep a cleaned crab on ice before you cook it? Hours, days? From what I understand as long as the crab is alive when you clean it, the toxins do not get in the meat. If this is the case, then you should be able to keep cleaned crabs on ice until the meat spoils, which I would think would be at least a couple of days.
Edit to say that the crabs in this post looked great. I went crabbing yesterday and steamed some last night as a direct result of reading this post!
Question about cleaning crabs . . . once you clean them after icing them and stunning them, how long can you keep a cleaned crab on ice before you cook it? Hours, days? From what I understand as long as the crab is alive when you clean it, the toxins do not get in the meat. If this is the case, then you should be able to keep cleaned crabs on ice until the meat spoils, which I would think would be at least a couple of days.
2350 Bluewater
Glad the post enticed you to go crabbin’! Hope they were a huge success and that you’ll continue enjoying the crabs while they’re plentiful.
I can’t say we keep the cleaned crabs long after icing them down and cleaning them - they go right into the cooker after that process. You should try it and let us know! Softshell crabs are cleaned before they’re frozen for commercial sale, aren’t they?
I’ve eaten many crabs that have been boiled, as opposed to steamed, and while they’re re still edible they’re just “mushy.”
Ive seen them done both ways…but I clean ith “inards” out of mine and then flap the shell back over…but most of the time I have none left to freeze:frowning_face:
Can remember my parents and grandparents putting live crabs in their bog pots of boiling water ans watching them try to climb out…think their a anti- boil-crab organization now that would protest this…like peta???..or maybe we can make a new show…“Crab Wars!!”lol
thanks for the info. i only have one pot out and i checked it last night and got some crabs, cleaned them, and have them packed on ice. we are planning to steam some crabs tonight after we check the pot this evening. i am thinking the crabs i cleaned and have on ice from yesterday will be fine. i checked them this morning and it does not smell like the meat has spoiled. since there are no inards, i am thinking they will hold for a few days. if they hurt my stomach, i will surely know by tomorrow! i will let you know how it goes.
