Crabs, crabs, crabs

I remember wondering last winter if I would ever figure out how to catch crabs. In fact, there was a time when I almost gave up because it just seemed too difficult. I know now that the problem was not really lack of knowledge or experience, but lack of crabs. They just don't come in good here until late summer. One night just before tropical storm Ernesto, I caught a dozen crabs in a couple of hours off the dock. After the storm the water temperature dropped about 10 degrees, and the crabs slowed down, but they're back now. I steamed up a dozen tonight and we had them for supper. Although not huge, these crabs are just loaded with sweet, white, delicious meat. We came away from the table stuffed. There is something very satisfying about eating with your hands, especially when it's your own catch. Considering the crabs and fish in the summer and the ducks, geese and shellfish in the winter, I can see how Native Americans must have thrived along the Chesapeake. Here's my method and recipe for steaming crabs, admittedly still in the process of perfecting.

- In large pot, bring a solution of 4 parts water to 1 part beer to full boil
- Add one half cup Old Bay seasoning and liberal dashes of sea salt
- Put a wire basket or something in the bottom of the pot so that crabs don't touch the water
- Remove crabs from traps & immerse in ice water for 5 minutes (this stuns and imobilizes them for the next step)
- Layer in circles around pot sprinkling liberally with Old Bay before starting the next layer
- Steam until crabs are bright red, usually about 15 minutes
- Serve with drawn butter, broiled new potatoes, hushpuppies, & cold beer

Eating Blue Crabs also requires practice and patience. Dianne is always happy to demonstrate her refined crab cracking method. I think it might be pretty complicated to type out. Suffice it to say there is very little resemblance to cracking the snow crab legs which are much more common in the Southeast. -S