Steamed Blue Crabs
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 12ounces beer
- 1cup apple-cider vinegar
- 1dozen large blue crabs
- ½cup Chesapeake-style crab seasoning, preferably Old Bay
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
145 calories; 2 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 240 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place a steamer pot or any large, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid on the stove. (In the latter case, improvise a rack on the bottom of the pot that will keep crabs a few inches from the bottom.) Add the beer, vinegar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Step 2
Put a layer of crabs on the rack in the pot. Sprinkle with a generous amount of seasoning, then repeat with another layer, and another, until all 12 crabs are in pot (and well seasoned). Cover and steam over medium-high heat until the crabs are bright red, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the crabs with tongs. Serve over newspaper, with mallets and picks.
Private Notes
Comments
Please use only males, not only are they easier to pick but they don't lay eggs and make more crabs. Wonder why there is a shortage?
Isn't that just what Old Bay is? Old Bay ingredients: "CELERY SALT (SALT, CELERY SEED), SPICES (INCLUDING RED PEPPER AND BLACK PEPPER) AND PAPRIKA."
Really so much better without Old Bay, says this Chesapeake Bay girl! Use a mixture of kosher salt, celery seed/celery salt, dry mustard, paprika, black pepper.
Add a bottle of beer to the water for steaming.
Speaking as a Baltimore transplant, from another part of MD, but kids are true blue crab Baltimore, crab picking is a social happening. Steam your males with a good amount of Old Bay, Dump them on a brown paper covered table, along with fries and anything else good with melted butter and more Old Bay, crack a Natty Boh, and settle in with good friends for some good times.
I grew up in Baltimore and learned how to pick an eat steamed crabs as a very young child. Under no circumstances steam or boil them for 25 minutes. You will have rubber to eat instead of delicious blue crab. Instead, steam or boil them only until the shells turn bright red. That’s enough. Then take them out. You can run them under cold water to stop the cooking process. If you want, you can put Old Bay in the cooking water if you want (I do), but forbut for heaven sake, don’t boil the lusciousness out of them. And yes, use only male crabs. It used to be illegal to take female crabs, but there is now a scarcity of blue crabs in the Chesapeake so I suspect that the females are still off-limits and must be thrown back.
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