Steamed Crabs

DIAD

Went out for my first steamed crabs of the season.  Being born and raised in Maryland I needed my fix!  These were not cooked on the BGE but I still thought that I would share.  Every crab was 8" and came from the gulf.  I can't wait for summer!!!!

TexanOfTheNorth

Well, there's no rule that says everything we eat must be cooked on the egg. Those look fantastic and, I can see, they didn't stand a chance!

GrannyX4

Oh my, love your crab! ;;)

BoomerTheWeim

Years ago I lived in Ocean City MD for a summer and worked at Hoopers Crab House.  Man, I miss MD crabs.

Seapointbakers

Very nice. There is no place better the MD for crabs. I got some a week ago, they weren't quite as big but they were heavy and full. Very tasty. Where did you go to eat them?

DIAD

@Seapointbakers‌ went to Seaside in Glen Burnie. It was a work dinner that's why they were the Jumbos! Very heavy!!

nolaegghead

From wiki:

Louisiana harvests the most blue crab of all states in America by a significant margin. Most crabs sold in Maryland were caught in Louisiana.

chainsaw19

But ours taste better Crabs are the Chesapeake Bay's biggest moneymaker, bringing in $52 million in Maryland in 2009, and many chefs believe they are among the world's best. The lower salinity of the upper Chesapeake Bay makes the meat sweeter and more tender, and the crabs hibernate over the winter, storing fat that makes them taste richer than nonhibernating crabs from farther south, said Chad Wells, executive chef at Alewife in Baltimore

nolaegghead

haha... everyone claims their crabs taste better.  Salinity - look at Lake Pontchartrain salinity levels, or the marshes around here where they trap them.  Very low salinity.  Crabs don't hibernate, technically, they get dormant.  There's barley any fat in crab (or crawfish), I'm sure more fat would make them  taste richer, but they're boiled in old bay or (in Louisiana) crab boil and they taste pretty much like the seasoning they're boiled in.

Why do so many Louisiana crab get shipped to Maryland and sold as Chesapeake Bay crab?  It's because you also have crab, and the rich history, area being famous for it's crab, etc creates that demand.   If Maryland didn't import crab, the local price would be so high they'd taste even better

DIAD

That's why I get my fix when I have to and do my own crabbing in season. I do think that MD crabs are better but I'm biased! Either way I will eat them up with some cold beers!! Life is good

henapple

Thanks nola

Eggcelsior

nolaegghead said:

haha... everyone claims their crabs taste better.  Salinity - look at Lake Pontchartrain salinity levels, or the marshes around here where they trap them.  Very low salinity.  Crabs don't hibernate, technically, they get dormant.  There's barley any fat in crab (or crawfish), I'm sure more fat would make them  taste richer, but they're boiled in old bay or (in Louisiana) crab boil and they taste pretty much like the seasoning they're boiled in.

Why do so many Louisiana crab get shipped to Maryland and sold as Chesapeake Bay crab?  It's because you also have crab, and the rich history, area being famous for it's crab, etc creates that demand.   If Maryland didn't import crab, the local price would be so high they'd taste even better

The local price is higher and I gladly pay it. They taste much better than the crab from the gulf coast or South America/Southeast Asia. That stuff tastes like nothing compared to true Maryland crab. Reminds me of lobster, which also tastes like nothing.

nolaegghead

I'm convinced it does taste better.  At least better than foreign imported crab.  We eat a good amount of blue crab around here, but no where near as much as you Marylanders.  Local fish, shrimp, crawfish and oysters reign supreme.  We use "gumbo crabs" (small blue crab) to flavor seafood gumbo.

Blind taste test here:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2012/06/13/maryland-crab-fakes/

nolaegghead

Read about why some say only local lobster really does lobster justice.  Spoiler - transportation.

Eggcelsior

I had right out of the trap lobster at a dockside place in Maine back in high school. The whole shebang with blueberry pie and clams. It was like eating water with a little salt dipped in butter. I can eat salted butter for MUCH cheaper than lobster. The pie and clams were delicious. 

Eggcelsior

nolaegghead said:

I'm convinced it does taste better.  At least better than foreign imported crab.  We eat a good amount of blue crab around here, but no where near as much as you Marylanders.  Local fish, shrimp, crawfish and oysters reign supreme.  We use "gumbo crabs" (small blue crab) to flavor seafood gumbo.

Blind taste test here:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2012/06/13/maryland-crab-fakes/

I am well aware of this. I follow the "True Blue" listing through Maryland DNS to get real stuff. I buy crappy stuff for crab dip, real stuff for crab cakes. I get crabs from the people that catch them when I trek near Annapolis during the season.

nolaegghead

One of my chemistry professors, the one that probably contributed the most to my interest in the discipline, told a story about a study they did on arsenic in lobster tissue.  Long story short, they threw a lobster and beer party for grad students and the students had to submit urine samples at various intervals.  They knew the arsenic concentration of the lobster, the amount of lobster eaten, and now, the amount passed through urine and at what rate.  Ain't science grand!

cortguitarman

I love some Maryland blue crabs. We have a place on the Elk River on the upper bay. The crabs come way upriver in mid to late summer for the warm water. Those rivers are fresh water rivers. BTW, @nolaegghead‌ in Maryland Old Bay isn't what most people use. J.O. seasoning is the preferred seasoning for Maryland crabs.

Eggcelsior

cortguitarman said:

I love some Maryland blue crabs. We have a place on the Elk River on the upper bay. The crabs come way upriver in mid to late summer for the warm water. Those rivers are fresh water rivers. BTW, @nolaegghead‌ in Maryland Old Bay isn't what most people use. J.O. seasoning is the preferred seasoning for Maryland crabs.

McCormick effed up Old Bay. I only get it for nostalgia. They used to have a "Chesapeake Bay seasoning" that was basically old Old Bay but stopped it a while back. J.O. is the way to go. 

nolaegghead

Hmmm good info.  I'm not crazy about Old Bay, I'll definitely look for that.  Our regional seafood spice profile is very different from yours.   I like to mix it up.

Eggcelsior

nolaegghead

We don't have a speck of it in our kitchen.  I try not to buy anything+salt.  Celery powder, that I have, and it's hard to find, locally here (actually ordered it).

Eggcelsior

nolaegghead said:

We don't have a speck of it in our kitchen.  I try not to buy anything+salt.  Celery powder, that I have, and it's hard to find, locally here (actually ordered it).

I can walk to the McCormick store from work. I can hook you up, yo.

DIAD

Gotta be J.O #2 spice.

nolaegghead

DIAD said:

Gotta be J.O #2 spice.

Thanks man!

Eggcelsior

DIAD said:

Gotta be J.O #2 spice.

Only if you are steaming crabs.

Get #1 for everything else or your food will be way too salty.

nolaegghead

2 has more salt?  I was thinking it was just hotter.  There a version light on the salt?  I love salt, I just want to control the salt/spice ratio.

SGH

@nolaegghead‌
Just curious sir. You being from the gulf coast as well do you prefer them boiled or steamed. Over my way boiled is the preferred method by a wide margin.

nolaegghead

@SGH  Steaming blue crab is almost non-existent here.  I will steam lobster or Alaskan crab sometimes.  Our boil doesn't leave much particulate scum on the outside of the crab, so it's a little less messy to eat, but that's not saying much - eating blue crabs is like a scene right out of American Psycho when Patrick Bateman wears the rain gear.

Eggcelsior

@nolaegghead

#2 has added flake sea salt for steamed crabs. #1 is basically the same without the added flakes. They also have a low salt version.

DIAD

They also have an extra hot version