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Recipe: Steamed Maryland Blue Carbs

Do-It-Yourself has never tasted so good as with this easy recipe for steamed crabs. So, you want to know how to cook crabs? Here’s what it takes…

Ingredients:

Steamed Crabs with Old Bay Seasoning
  • 1 dozen Maryland Blue Crabs
  • 1 cup beer (Don’t use an expensive brand. A simple Budweiser will do.)
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1/4 cups Old Bay Seasoning (or more if you like them spicy!)
  • MORE Old Bay Seasoning!

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, stir together the beer, white vinegar, and Old Bay seasoning.
  2. Place a steaming rack in the pot making sure that the steaming rack is above the liquid.
  3. Bring the liquid to a boil then place Maryland Blue Crabs in the pot on the steaming rack.
  4. Sprinkle your desired amount of Old Bay on top of the Maryland Blue Crabs.
  5. Cover and steam until they are done, approximately 20 minutes (for large crabs). You will be able to tell if they are done because they will be bright orange in color instead of blue/green.

Variations:

  • You may wish to use 1 cup of water in place of the cup of beer. However, true Marylanders use the beer.

Tips:

  • The best way to eat Maryland Steamed Blue Crabs in to expect to get messy! Lay down some newspaper or brown craft paper, get out some knives and mallets (used in helping to open the crabs and to get the meat out, and enjoy!
  • Wait until the crabs have just started to cool down to a comfortable temperature for touching them and that is the time when you will have your best shot at pulling big chunks of crab meat out when you pull the legs off.
  • You may choose to serve Maryland Crabs with little cups of melted butter or extra Old Bay Seasoning for dipping.
  • Marylanders love to have their steamed crabs with fried chicken and corn on the cob on the side.
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How to Pick and Eat Steamed Crabs

Maryland Steamed Crabs – How to pick ’em & eat ’em

EATING CRABS…where adults are encouraged to wear a bib, eat with their hands, get food on the table, pound on the table, throw their leftovers in a pile, generally make a mess…and have a great time picking crabs.

There are probably as many ways to pick and eat steamed crabs as there are “crab pickers” in Baltimore. The following photos and descriptions should serve to get you started.

Just a few hints:

  • Don’t bother about the mess.
  • Don’t rub your eyes until you have thoroughly washed your hands.
  • Have fun. Share stories with your friends (and maybe a cold beer or soda).
  • Enjoy!
Crab mallet for steamed crabsTools: All you need are a mallet, a dull knife, and plenty of Kraft paper (or maybe newspaper) to cover your table.
Remove the steamed crab clawsRemove the front claws: Put them aside, you can come back to them later.
Steamed Crab Legs Being removedPull off the rest of the legs: Sometimes, you get lucky and some crab meat pulls out with them. Just enjoy it.
Open the steamed crab apronOpen the apron: Pull up the apron on the bottom of the crab and break it off.
Open the steamed crab body and remove the shellOpen the crab: You can now easily pull the hard shell off of the top of the crab.
Clean our the innards of the steamed crab - remove the lungsClean out: Scrape out and discard anything that does not look appealing to you – the yellow “mustard” and the lungs (sometimes called the devil’s fingers).
Break the steamed crab body in halfBreak in half: You are now down to the main part of the crab. Simply grasp it in both hands and break it in half to expose the sweet crab meat.
Enjoy the sweet meat from your steamed crabsThe crab meat…
…can be found in all of the little nooks and crannies. This is some of the finest tasting seafood to be had anywhere.
Oh yes, what are the mallet and knife for? The knife (not sharp, please!) helps to pull the crab meat out from all the little nooks and crannies. And the mallet – well, each large claw also contains some fine-eatin’ meat – use the mallet to crack the claws. Actually, the only essential “tool” is the paper to cover the table. The mallet and knife only make things a “little” easier, but they definitely add to the fun.

If you are in Baltimore you can find all of this fun and great eatin’ at an authentic, family-owned and operated crab house. Be sure to visit L.P. Steamers in Locust Point (on the way to Fort McHenry).

Can’t get to L.P. Steamers right now? Don’t want the mess? Want Seafood at home – delivered fresh to your door? The Crab Place has everything you need for a succulent seafood feast. From crab to soups and spices, they quickly deliver the highest quality products to your door.

Fresh seafood makes a great gift, and The Crab Place has a top-quality assortment to choose from. Not sure what to get or when it should be delivered? The Crab Place gift certificates are available.

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Recipe: Maryland Cream of Crab Soup

Do-It-Yourself has never tasted so good as with this “favorite” creamy and smooth Maryland cream of crab soup.

This is not your “regular” Maryland crab soup (which is vegetable based and also delicious) – this is creamy and smooth – Maryland cream of crab soup. So, you want to make up a pot for weekend guests or just for your family? Here’s what it takes…

Cream of Crab Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 quart half and half
  • 1 pint milk
  • 2 pints heavy whipping cream
  • 1 pound Maryland jumbo lump crab meat
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
  • 3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • cornstarch

Directions:

  1. Bring the milk, half and half, and heavy whipping cream to a boil.
  2. Add the crab meat, fresh parsley, Old Bay seasoning, butter, salt, and pepper. If you like spice, you may choose to taste the soup at this point to see if you need to add more Old Bay seasoning.
  3. When the Cream of Crab Soup starts to boil, make a paste of cornstarch and water and gradually add the cornstarch mixture to the soup until it is your desired level of thickness.
  4. Serve in a bowl, or even better, a bread bowl and sprinkle a pinch of old bay on top of the soup and add a sprig of fresh parsley to garnish.

Fun facts about this recipe:

  • Maryland style crabs are blue crabs, the kind of crab that is found in great quantities in the Chesapeake Bay which is in Maryland and Virginia. The Old Bay seasoning is one other factor that makes this Cream of Crab soup a Maryland Cream of Crab Soup. Old Bay seasoning is a very popular seafood seasoning that was developed by McCormick & Company which is based out of the Baltimore, Maryland area.

Tips:

Buy:

  • Don’t always have time to make your own?
  • Pick up some already made Maryland Cream of Crab Soup from your local market or even from Amazon.