Hello,

As the subject line say's, i need urgent advice on blue crabs. I was
gave a bushel of live crabs & i have the foggiest idea what to do with
all of them,looks like a couple hundred of em'. i'm gonna have a crab
boil with about 50 of em' but what can i do with the rest? Thought about
cooking all of them then picking out the meat,then what? Any advice or
tips would be great.

Willie

ps, I have them on ice right now in a cooler,all i had at this time of
night 12:25am central

Willie S wrote:
Hello,

As the subject line say's, i need urgent advice on blue crabs. I was
gave a bushel of live crabs & i have the foggiest idea what to do with
all of them,looks like a couple hundred of em'. i'm gonna have a crab
boil with about 50 of em' but what can i do with the rest? Thought
about cooking all of them then picking out the meat,then what? Any
advice or tips would be great.

Willie

ps, I have them on ice right now in a cooler,all i had at this time of
night 12:25am central

Wowsa! You have a lot of blue crabs! Okay, I was a teen in South Carolina
with blue crabs. Here's some stuff you can do with them.

Steam them. Use a seafood seasoning (Old Bay), about 1/2 cup. 3 dozen live
blue crabs; 3 cups white vinegar and water. Put the crabs on a rack over
boiling water with the vinegar and seasoning and steam 20-30 minutes until
the shells are bright red.

Crab Cakes

1 lb. blue crabmeat
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. seafood seasoning
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard

Mix together in a bowl eggs, mayo, seafood seasoning, dry mustard,
Worcestershire sauce. Add crabmeat and mix gently. Add breadcrumbs gently.
Shape into 6 cakes. Deep fry 2-3 minutes until golden brown or pan fry for
each side about 5 minutes until golden brown.

You may also make blue crab into a hot crab dip. Steam the crab and then
combine the meat with cream cheese and sour cream. From there you add the
ubiquitous dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated cheese along with
the picked crab meat. Serve warm with crackers.

Jill

Willie S wrote:
Hello,

As the subject line say's, i need urgent advice on blue crabs. I was
gave a bushel of live crabs & i have the foggiest idea what to do with
all of them,looks like a couple hundred of em'. i'm gonna have a crab
boil with about 50 of em' but what can i do with the rest? Thought about
cooking all of them then picking out the meat,then what? Any advice or
tips would be great.

Willie

ps, I have them on ice right now in a cooler,all i had at this time of
night 12:25am central

Invite a mess of freinds over, steam ther crabs with old bay, buy some
beers, and dig in. Crabs bby the bushel are fairly common aorund thec
chesapeake bay.

You canmake leftover picked crab into she-crab soup, putiton a louis
salad, serve it in butter and lemon juice "norfolk style" , ormake crab
cakes. Or simply have me over -- there won't be any leftovers!

In article ,
"jmcquown" wrote:
(snippage)
Steam them. Use a seafood seasoning (Old Bay), about 1/2 cup. 3 dozen live
blue crabs; 3 cups white vinegar and water.

What's the purpose of the vinegar?
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 1-27-2006, The Best Dead Spread Yet

In article ,
"jmcquown" wrote:
(snippage)

You may also make blue crab into a hot crab dip. Steam the crab and then
combine the meat with cream cheese and sour cream. From there you add the
ubiquitous dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated cheese along with
the picked crab meat. Serve warm with crackers.

Jill

Ubiquitous dry mustard? What's that?
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 1-27-2006, The Best Dead Spread Yet

"Willie S" wrote
Hello,

As the subject line say's, i need urgent advice on blue crabs. I was
gave a bushel of live crabs & i have the foggiest idea what to do with
all of them,looks like a couple hundred of em'. i'm gonna have a crab
boil with about 50 of em' but what can i do with the rest? Thought about
cooking all of them then picking out the meat,then what? Any advice or
tips would be great.

Willie

ps, I have them on ice right now in a cooler,all i had at this time of
night 12:25am central

First and most important - before you cook any of them make sure they're
alive. If they're on ice they'll be sluggish but will soon liven up (and
give you a run for your money). Also, *do not* boil them, steam them.

Hopefully, you have a large steamer pot. Assuming you do, try this. We're
in Maryland and steam crabs all the time in the summer.

STEAMED MARYLAND BLUE CRABS

1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup salt
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups beer (we use beer if we have it, otherwise water)
3 dozen live (and lively) blue crabs

Mix seasonings, vinegar and beer (or water). Put half the crabs in a very
large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Pour one-half of the seasoning mixture
over the top. Add the rest of the crabs and remaining liquid. Steam,
covered, until crabs turn bright red, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Make sure the steamed crabs and the live crabs don't come in contact with
each other.

As Jude says, the best thing is to have a bunch of friends over (actually,
better done outside). However, spread plenty of newspaper on the table,
provide lots of beer and dig in. Messy but good!

If you don't want to do that, eat the crabs you want when they're hot and
pick out the crab meat from the remainder. I personally don't like to
refrigerate the whole crabs but you can for a short time if the meat is
picked and you plan to make crab cakes, etc. Crab meat is highly
perishable.

If you have a lot of left-over crab meat, then use a tip given me by a
waterman. These men go out in season and bring back crabs, clams and
oysters.
Put the crab meat in a container and cover with water, then freeze. When
thawed, just press out as much water as possible and use as usual.
If you try freezing the crab meat without the water, it will become dry,
tough and inedible.

Dora

"Jude" wrote in message
Invite a mess of freinds over, steam ther crabs with old bay, buy some
beers, and dig in. Crabs bby the bushel are fairly common aorund thec
chesapeake bay.

Hey, Jude! (sounds like the Beatles). Where are you located? I'm in crab
country, on the Eastern Shore (Wye River).

Dora

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article ,
"jmcquown" wrote:
(snippage)
Steam them. Use a seafood seasoning (Old Bay), about 1/2 cup. 3
dozen live blue crabs; 3 cups white vinegar and water.

What's the purpose of the vinegar?

It keeps the crabs from smelling "crabby". Just use a dash with fresh
crabs.

Jill

limey wrote:
"Jude" wrote in message
Invite a mess of freinds over, steam ther crabs with old bay, buy some
beers, and dig in. Crabs bby the bushel are fairly common aorund thec
chesapeake bay.

Hey, Jude! (sounds like the Beatles). Where are you located? I'm in crab
country, on the Eastern Shore (Wye River).

Dora

I'm at the mouth of the Chesapeake ..... Virginia Beach. Love the
she-crab soup!!!

Willie S wrote:
Hello,

As the subject line say's, i need urgent advice on blue crabs. I was
gave a bushel of live crabs & i have the foggiest idea what to do with
all of them,looks like a couple hundred of em'. i'm gonna have a crab
boil with about 50 of em' but what can i do with the rest? Thought about
cooking all of them then picking out the meat,then what? Any advice or
tips would be great.

Willie

ps, I have them on ice right now in a cooler,all i had at this time of
night 12:25am central

I'd cook all of them and not try to keep some alive for later cooking.
Cooked crabs or the picked meat will keep for a couple of days on ice
in the fridge, whereas you really don't want a bunch of dead raw crabs
lying around for any length of time. -aem

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article ,
"jmcquown" wrote:
(snippage)

You may also make blue crab into a hot crab dip. Steam the crab and
then combine the meat with cream cheese and sour cream. From there
you add the ubiquitous dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated
cheese along with the picked crab meat. Serve warm with crackers.

Jill

Ubiquitous dry mustard? What's that?

It's one of those ingredients that is... ubiquitous

jmcquown wrote on 02 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article ,
"jmcquown" wrote:
(snippage)

You may also make blue crab into a hot crab dip. Steam the crab and
then combine the meat with cream cheese and sour cream. From there
you add the ubiquitous dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated
cheese along with the picked crab meat. Serve warm with crackers.

Jill

Ubiquitous dry mustard? What's that?

It's one of those ingredients that is... ubiquitous




it is mostly ground mustard seed. Mustard flour in all manner of ways.
Used to mix with water or another liquid to produce a spreadable mustard
condiment. Keen's is one brand name. Quite findable at most any
supermarket.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.