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Recipe: Maryland Crab Soup

Do-It-Yourself has never tasted so good as with this vegetable-based “Maryland” favorite crab soup.

This is not the Cream of Crab (which is also delicious). So, if you want to cook up a pot of Maryland Crab Soup for the weekend – here’s what it takes…

Ingredients:

Maryland Crab Soup
Bowl of Maryland Crab Soup
  • 1 doz well seasoned Maryland Steamed Crabs
  • 3 lbs mixed frozen vegetables
  • 2 lbs frozen corn
  • 2 lbs frozen string beans
  • bay leaves
  • Old bay Seasoning
  • Oregano
  • 1 16 oz can tomato sauce
  • A few cans tomato paste
  • 1 lb fresh bacon
  • Sea salt

Directions:

  1. Place the crabs in a large pot
  2. Add enough water to completely cover the crabs.
  3. Bring the water to a boil and boil the crabs for 15 to 20 minutes. You will know when they are done because they will be bright orange.
  4. While the crabs are boiling, cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces and cook in a separate pan.
  5. When the crabs are done, remove the crabs from the pot and place them aside to cool. Tip: They will cool faster if you go ahead and break them open.
  6. Add the tomato sauce and 3 cans of water to the pot.
  7. Add the frozen mixed vegetable, frozen corn, and frozen string beans to the pot.
  8. Toss in the Old Bay Seasoning, a couple of bay leaves, and a couple of dashes of oregano.
  9. Add the crabs back to the pot and add the bacon as well.
  10. Simmer on low for 2 to 3 hours.
  11. Add the tomato paste to the soup to help thicken it up some. How much you will need depends on how think you like it. It should not be very thick, but you definitely want it to be a little thicker than water.
  12. Add the potatoes to the soup and let it cook until the potatoes are soft.
  13. Taste the soup and add more Old Bay Seasoning and sea salt to taste.
  14. Ladle into bowl and enjoy!

Variations:

  • If you want to save your family, friends, guests, the trouble, do not add the whole crabs back into the soup at step 9. You will want to pick the crab meat out of the crabs first and add just the crab meat.
  • If picking the crab meat out of the crabs is too much trouble, then you can certainly buy tubs of crab meat by the pound at a grocery store or market, but beware, it won’t taste as good!

Tips:

Buy:

  • Don’t always have time to make your own?
  • Pick up some already made Crab Soup from your local market or even from Amazon.
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Recipe: Easy Cocktail Sauce

…for steamed shrimp and other seafood of course.

Yes, you can buy cocktail sauce, ready-made, in a jar to keep in your fridge – and have some mediocre sauce for dipping.

Or you can keep some fresh horseradish in your fridge and combine it with two other ingredients that you (likely) already have, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Mr. Bill likes to mix his favorite* cocktail sauce up fresh – as needed. Yup, only three ingredients to make great tasting and FRESH cocktail sauce whenever you want.

Here’s what it takes…

Crab Claw Open Vertical
Open Crab Claw

Ingredients:

  1. A good thick red ketchup. Use a well-known name brand – Heinz is great – just don’t use a watery “house brand.” Or you might as well buy that ol’ pre made cocktail sauce in a jar
  2. Worcestershire Sauce – again, use a name brand such as Lee & Perrins. You can keep a small bottle for a long time before it goes bad (probably take 100 years) and you’ll only use a little at a time.
  3. Horseradish. Here’s the tricky part – fresh ground is absolutely the best, like we used to buy from the “Horseradish Lady” at Baltimore’s Cross Street Market on Saturday mornings. In lieu of that you can buy horseradish in a jar – just make sure it the ground pieces and not a puree or white sauce. Cocktail sauce is best with a bit of texture from the horseradish.

Mr. Bill mixes it “to taste,” which is basically a lot of ketchup, about 1/3 that amount of horseradish, and a couple splashes of the Worcestershire sauce. (If you like a bit more “heat” to go with the horseradish, feel free to add a couple splashed of your favorite hot-sauce.)

Here’s a good place to start – use large shot glasses for measuring. They can then be used for dipping.

*Why is this SoBo Bill’s favorite? It’s his recipe, of course. 🙂

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Recipe: Maryland Style Steamed Shrimp

Do-It-Yourself has never tasted so good as with this quick and easy recipe for steaming shrimp – in the Maryland “style” of course – often called “Old Bay Shrimp.” Here’s what it takes…

Ingredients:

SouthBmore Shrimp on a Plate
Steamed Shrimp Ready to Serve
  • 1 pound raw shrimp (the shell can be on or off)
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup beer (Don’t use an expensive brand. A simple Budweiser will do.)
  • 3 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning

Directions:

  1. Combine water, beer, and Old Bay Seasoning in a large pot and bring it to a boil.
  2. Place a steaming rack in the pot over the water and add the Shrimp. If you would like your shrimp to be a bit spicier you will want alternate layers of shrimp and sprinkling Old Bay Seasoning to taste.
  3. Cover and steam for 2 to 3 minutes until they are done. You will know they are done when they have turned pink.

Variations:

  • You may wish to use ½ cup of water instead of beer.
  • Some people like to add a couple of celery stalks chopped into large pieces to the pot. If you choose to do this, add the celery when you add the water, beer, and Old Bay Seasoning.