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Steamed Crabs

Mama Mangia

Mama Mangia

Super Moderator
1 bushel of Blue Crabs
1/4 cup of water
1 can or bottle of beer (any beer will work)
Can of seasoning.
Kosher salt
2 tbsp of vinegar

For a pot that holds a 1/2 bushel of crabs pour in a can of beer, 1/4 cup of water, and 2 tbsp of vinegar. Layer crabs in pot. On every layer sprinkle seasoning and kosher salt to the desired amount. (If seafood seasoning like Old Bay is not avaliable it is easy to make. Seasoned Salt, celery seed, pepper, and paprika.) Steam crabs for about 15 to 20 minutes until orange.
 
To steam crabs right actually takes two cans of beer, Mama. One goes in the steamer kettle and the other goes in the steamer---if you take my meaning. :p

I never use extra salt on the crab layers myself, as Old Bay and similar spice mixes are heavy enough on the salt side as it is.

And ideally there should be a rack in the pot, so that the liquid level stays below the crabs. The only moisture that should touch them is the steam itself.
 
hey - want more instructions - fine -

In a large boiling pot with a 2 inch raised rack add water and vinegar in equal amounts until the level is just below the rack. Bring to a boil. Drop the crabs into the pot in single layers*, sprinkling each layer with a thick coating of Old Bay and salt. The larger the pot, the more crabs you can steam at once, just make sure that the lid is still able to fit tightly. Steam in batches if you have to. Cover the pot and steam until until crabs turn a bright orange, about 20 minutes. If the shells are dark red or have reddish-green patches, then the crabs are not fully cooked and you need to keep steaming them. I found that stirring occasionally with a long handled spoon helped make sure the crabs at the top were cooked enough. Remove the crabs from the pot with tongs and serve on a newspaper lined table, preferably outdoors. Make sure you have lots of paper towels! Now, I am a Baltimore native and an experienced crab picker so I normally don't need any utensils beyond my fingers but it is often wise to have wooden crab mallets, butter knives or even nut cracking tools handy in case you need them to get the last bits of crab out of the shell. Now you are ready to get picking!
 
There is a big difference, I think, in the way crabs are steamed depending

on where you live.

In Annapolis, between Baltimore and DC, we use no water to steam crabs, just beer and vinegar. We use the rack to prevent the crabs from being boiled in the liquid, the purpose is to steam them. Here, we layer them and season each layer with a mix of salt and Old Bay Seasoning. How long you cook them depends on the size of the crabs, and how many you are steaming at one time. Usually a full pot with mixed size is approximately 30 minutes. Once they begin to steam well, turn the heat to med. as having the pot too hot (heavy steam) will result in wet, soggy crabs. When shells begin to turn red, stir crabs and add more Old Bay mixture.

We have lived along the Bay and enjoyed this delicacy for 40 years. HOWEVER, DUE TO LOW YIELD AND THE PRICE ESCALATING TO OVER $200. PER BUSHEL WE WON'T BE ENJOYING THEM THIS YEAR :( It is as insane as these gas prices we are dealing with.
 
Good grief, Mai. Sounds like another bad year on the Chesapeake. Sorry to hear that.

Kind of strange, too. We made our annual trip to the Outer Banks a month ago, and it was one of our best seasons ever for crabs. In fact, we did very little fishing because the crabbing was so good. Friend Wife was pulling the pots every five minutes, and there were always crabs in them.

Lots of little ones, it's true. But more than enough keepers to make us happy. Ate crab every day, and brought some home as well.

Matter of fact, that won ton recipe with the peach gastrique was developed on that trip.

The specifics of steaming lie, I think, in who first taught you, rather than geography per say. Along the Eastern Shore, for instance, its mixed. Some do it your way. Some do it Mama's. And some actually boil their crabs. And everyone, of course, insists their's is the only right way.

Further down in Southern Maryland it's also a mixed bag of methods. But I've noticed that around Annapolis it is mostly beer/vinegar, as you say.

The best steamed crab meal we ever had was due to location. Number one son was attending American University. We were on the Eastern Shore, and stopped at Harrison's on the way up for a couple of dozen steamed. We took those to Washington, where we, Seth, and his then fiance at them al fresco on one of the campus lawns---getting jealous looks from every facilty member and the students who recognized what we were eating.
 
It's got to be a location thing in how they are cooked, down in south Alabama we boil them, well down there in the DEEP south they boil EVERYTHING, I remember green beans drenched in bacon drippings and boiled to a ridiculous state of over-doneness and folks loved it! Personally until reading this post I have NEVER heard of beer for steaming them. I do remember a place called LUMS that specialized in hotdogs steamed in beer. Does the beer impart any noticeable flavor into the crab meat? I would think not, but why beer if not?
 
>in the DEEP south they boil EVERYTHING,<

Everything they don't fry, at any rate.
 
Exactly, the beer and vinegar mix is the flavor enhancer. They are so good. And I

have eaten crabs at Harrison's many times. In fact, at work, we used them for catering purposes a couple of times. We have lots of good places around the general area here.

I have watched Emeril boil crabs and have wondered if they are wet and soggy. I wanted to yell, "no, no, no, Em." We work hard to keep them away from the liquid, thus a heavy dry crab. Great picking. I have never eaten them boiled in water.

They say the crabs that are coming out of the Bay are excellent ones this year, it is just that there are so few of them.

I have enjoyed the conversation ladies, and learning about crabs in your part of our world
 
>I have enjoyed the conversation ladies,....<

Alright, kiddies. Who wants to tell her? Cathy? Janie? Chubby?
 
in southeast Alaska, with amazing Dungies and King Crab, we boil 'em with Old Bay.

and don't let these guys give you a bad time you MsMia. KY and Chubby are dudes, but we let them hang out anyway!!!

welcome,
Nan
 
OMGoodness, do I ever feel like an idiot. I apologize

to you both. Although my DH is a wonderful cook I just didn't give any thought to male participation. Thanks for letting me know :)
 
not a problem at all

MsMai said:
to you both. Although my DH is a wonderful cook I just didn't give any thought to male participation. Thanks for letting me know :)
Click to expand...

I would say that way over half of the user names on these forums do not give a clue as to gender? As a matter of fact just today, I got a clue about several on another form when they refered to their husband or wife. But even then, not a totally clear indication?

Nan
 
Hey Gang-

Here I sit in light linen jammies with Noxema rubbed all over my tender shoulders, neck, face- and yes even on the many odd sections of my hairless scalp!

Am back after a day and a half away. HOT STEAMY summer weather has struck my part of the mid-west and my family had all kinds of doin's to celebrate. I'm not a fan of super-hot weather, so now that I'm drained and sunburnt beyond belief, after working in sis's yard, painting her garage, and taking dunks in the pool with my l'il nephew and his way-too-rambunctious buds all weekend. I'll likely stay indoors in the cool of the C/A the rest of the summer... especially in a couple weeks as the Dawg Dayz of August arrive! I tell ya- working the graveyard shift and sleeping days is an odd schedule to grow accustomed to, but it definitely has its advantages! Developing into a night-owl isn't all bad- especially at this hottest time of year... I'm becoming familiar with sitting on the patio at 3:00AM in the cool breeze with a beer, and some sultry Patsy Cline and Sarah Vaughn mingling with the crickets' song and swirling-off into the night air...

Anyway, for sis's pork-chop/salmon barbecue last night I made mama's yummy Peach Creme Cake though altered it a wee bit by layering it into a trifle dish- it was loved by all and I'll definitely make it again- thanks mama! Also enjoyed the juiciest chops and King Salmon ever- along with tender peaches-and-cream-corn-on-the-cob, sliced red tomatos (YUM, janie & cathy! Hee-Hee!) two-bean salad (made w/ fresh green beans & yella wax beans) and a different sweet-potato salad made by Dad's wife with maple-syrup/mayo, chopped celery, golden raisins & pecans... Yum!

It's neat to read of everyone's redition of the perfect crab methods. I'll admit- my crab-cooking techniques were ZIP before I went to Alaska, and as Nan offered- up there we only do it one way- boiled in water- perhaps enhanced with a beer- and almost always w/ a hand-full of Old Bay dumped in. To me, steaming seems needlessly delicate, because fishing the crab-legs out of boiling water w/ tongs or a 'spider' doesn't produce a water-logged product at all, surprisingly- but to each his own, I guess.

My fav is King Crab because of it's HUGE size and unblieveable meat-yield. In a perfect world, Red King is preferred but because Brown King is usually cheaper by several dollars per pound- yet very similar to Red (Brown tends to have a slightly thicker, more spiny shell that can be more difficult to get opened-up) I usually pick-up Brown King. Of course we also have Dungies up north and Tanner, Opilio and Baridi varieties (known in the lower-48 by their more common market-names: 'snow-crab'). I enjoy it all, but I'll admit, easy access to King will defintiely spoil one for the smaller, less meaty varieties. Also- King is a beautiful snow-white and red meat... not yellowish or brownish or dingey in coloration at all. Many varieties of picked lump crabmeat available here from the East to me appear a wee-bit less appetizing due to it's "dirty" appearance. But again- that's just the attitude of someone spoiled for years with the grand-daddy of them all- the KING!

By the way MsMai, no need to aopolgize about the gender mistake- it's nearly impossible to tell at a place like this sometimes! (New avatar is a shot of Arturo wrestling with a pair of still-kicking Red Kings!)
 
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Omigod, Chubby. For a minute I thought Arturo had turned into some sort of Great White Northern version of Edward Scissorhands.

Having had them both ways, I'd have to say you are right: Boiling does not produce a water logged product at all; any more than it does with lobster or stone crab.

I prefer steaming primarily because it's faster. It takes two days longer than forever for a kettle of water to come to a full boil. But the couple of cups in the bottom of a steamer are doing their thing in moments.

Of course, the very best way of cooking them is to do so right there where you catch them, using whichever method you like best. Boiling---steaming---it's all good.
 
Forgot to mention, Chubbs. Vinegar on that sunburn will make you feel a whole lot better.
 
I'll try the vinegar KYH... I've often heard that about sunburns...

Speaking of vinegar- what's the deal with it in steaming-liquid for the crabs? Does it contribute anything at all?

Most folks in Alaska keep their crab-pots in the garage because more often than not they are used out doors in fire-pits , rather than inside. I think I've eaten far more crablegs out in yards, in driveways and on rocky stretches of coastline and on beaches than inside at a table!
 
Love King crab meat. I purchase Phillips crab meat at Costco

during the winter for that purpose and, of course, we have a Phillips Restaurant downtown Annapolis at City Dock which we frequent during the wintertime.

I am not clear on your comment
"not yellowish or brownish or dingey in coloration at all".
Steamed crabs do not have discoloration. Or at least the ones in this area. A carton of backfin should be white in appearance. Not as white as the Alaskan crab meat, but by no means should it be yellowish or brownish or dingey. I wouldn't eat it if that was the case. I will do some research as to why the steamed method is preferred here. Stay tuned :)

This has made me so hungry for crabs.

BTW, the temp here is outrageous also; 100-105. It'll make an indoor gal out of you real fast.
 
Hmmm... odd, MsMai. I've rarely seen a carton of east coast lump crabmeat that didn't look yellow/brown (or dingey/dirty to my eye). Not trying to be rudely hyper-critical at all, but part of my preference for Alaskan varieties has always been the beautiful snow-white/red meat of the legs. Even the body meat appears cleaner that that of other regions, to me.
 
A crabcake question...

When pan-frying crabcakes I've always flattened the cake, patty-style and fried on both sides... same w/ salmon-cakes or salmon-'patties' like I grew up on.

Lately though, I've seen round "cakes" that aren't flattened, and these tend to be deep-fried rather than pan-fried....

Is this just a regional difference? What is you folks' experience with this? Any preferences?
 
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