Well, BUR… We’re hoping you’re alive to tell your story!!!
i’m alive . . . i ate the day old crabs and lived to tell about it. they were all delicious. we pulled some more out of the pot tonight along with some bonus stone crabs. steamed stone crab claws might be my new favorite thing. we baited the pots with chicken the last two days, but we were able to catch some menhaden tonight and use that for bait. hopefully the menhaden will produce more crabs than the chicken (will find out tomorrow evening)
thanks H20gul for putting me on to this!
2350 Bluewater
remember on the stone crabs you can only take one claw:smiley:
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
penfishn, we did take only one claw, we had three in the trap, one was a giant. i hope to have some more tonight!
2350 Bluewater
Those look good, but up here in Maryland you would never see them steamed topless like that. We spice them up too much for that. We do take the tops off and break them in half for old fashioned crab soup, but all of the fat from in the shell is saved and put in the soup. It makes the soup crab soup and not just vegetable soup with crabs in it.
“topless”
…love it!!!.. while i dont care for crabs that much but love me some stone crab claws and soft shell crabs and will fight you for or trick you out of them:wink:!!
miss’n fish’n
212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16
When I was in college at UR, I’d go home with my roommate to the beach house that her parents had in Northern Virginia (Colonial Beach). It was there that I had my first tastings of Maryland Blue Crabs, and, let me tell ya, they were SPICY! We’d dump 'em onto picnic tables covered with layers of newspapers and start tearing into the crabs. I can remember that yellow mustard stuff and the juices running down my arms! Can’t say I’ve ever cared for that yella stuff, either, which is another good reason to slow down and clean the crabs the way we do. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the “dead man gills” either as those get removed during the cleaning/rinsing process.
I’d be interested in trying my hand at that old fashioned crab soup if you, mcvlbound, would like to share your recipe! We certainly have no shortage of crabs these days, and I’m kinda tired of eating steamed crabs every other night at Jack’s insistence!
h20gul, the crab soup that I grew up eating was basically a spiced up vegetable soup with crabs in it. Anything that you could get your hands on fresh went into it. Potatoes, corn, string beans, my Dad would put tomatoes in his version, Mom didn’t. If we had a ham bone it would go in, but when I make it I don’t use one. For a good sized pot say 3 gallons you would need about 18 crabs. We’d ice them down and then clean them. Like I said everything from in the shell except the stomach and what we called the “devil”(dead man’s gills)went into a bowl and was saved. Even the stuff from corners of the shell. We’d cook the vegetable with the spices(Old Bay)until they were almost finished and then add the crabs and the stuff from the bowl. Then we’d simmer it for at least an hour or two. It’s not a pretty soup, the broth will resemble dirty dish water, but man is it good.
To me any shell fish soup or stew is always better when you use the “essense” of the shellfish. Oyster Stew and Clam Soups and Chowders to me are always best with freshly shucked ingredients. I do that so I can save the juice that comes out of the shell when I’m opening them. I remember eating a bowl of Clam Soup that a neighbor made when I lived on the eastern shore. The broth was crystal clear and I couldn’t find a piece of clam in it, but it was the clammiest tasting soup that I’d ever eaten. She had opened a bunch of Chowder Clams, saved the juice from the clams for the soup, and used the meat for Clam Fritters. To me Oyster Stew with store bought oysters that have been sprayed clean after they’ve been shucked will never have the flavor of oyster stew made with fresh shucked oysters in their natural juices. It’s more work but to me well worth the effort.
Thank you for sharing the recipe! I kinda felt like I was there with ya’ll making it while reading… Although I do like my cooking creations to look “pretty,” I imagine the the crab soup probably wouldn’t win any beauty contests…
I’ll have to agree with you that soups made from the stock of shells, etc. of fresh clams, oysters, shrimp, crabs, etc. ARE definitely the best soup bases. You don’t need much meat to actually taste the true flavor of whatever shellfish you’re cooking. Well, I supposed you could say the same about a ham bone as well - I use those lots in the winter when making veggie soup.
What do you guys think about adding okra to soups? I always make two batches - one with and one without, when cooking for crowds as not everyone cares for okra. Some say it’s slimy (including Jack!) But, I love it in my soups, especially fish stew! I bet mcvlbound’s Dad used okra in his crab soup! 
Holy cow that’s how i like to see them cooked.
Thats reminds me of Chesapeake.
Fishing is the chance to wash one’s soul with pure air.