All You Can Eat: Maryland Blue Crab, Two Ways

The crab pots off of our dock were chock full upon our arrival in Princess Anne last week and we emptied and filled them again before we had departed.  We're not sure if we're crabbing geniuses or just have good luck, but we had plenty of crab to gobble up all week long.  The first night we had a traditional crab feast of steamed crabs, corn on the cob, and red potatoes -- recipe below.  Later that week we (and by "we," I mean Grammie B) picked steamed crabs and made delicious crab cakes.  Grammie makes a mean crab cake using a family recipe, but we had to make do with what we had at the house for this batch.  They were still delicious, but we thought it would be fun to share the recipe for our family faves.  So here you have it.

If you are looking for a good local spot to buy crabs, try the Maine Avenue Fish Market on the SW Waterfront.  We haven't been yet, but word is that the picking is good.

Steamed Maryland Crabs
First get yourself some live crabs -- we had a hilarious time figuring out how to get them out of the pot and stay bite free.  We cooled ours down with some ice, which slowed them enough to be handled injury free.  Rinse them off.  In the bottom boiler of a crab steaming pot, bring to boil:

- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1-2 cans of flat beer

Then, in the top portion of the double boiler, place the crabs in layers, sprinkling each layer generously with Old Bay seasoning.  Cover and wait for wisps of steam to begin escaping from under the lid, about 5-10 minutes.  Continue to steam over high heat for an additional 20-30 minutes until crabs turn bright orange/red.  If the crabs have dark red or greenish patches, they are not yet fully cooked.

We served ours with lots of Old Bay, plenty of butter, corn on the cob and red potatoes.  YUM.

Jim Rouse's Crab Cakes 
Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

- 2 tbs. mayonnaise
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 1 dash Tobasco sauce
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
- 6 crackers, crushed

Add 1 lb. crab meat (backfin or lump preferred) to the above mixture.  Turn it all together with your hands, very gently to avoid breaking the crab lumps.  Make into slightly flattened cakes.  Coat lightly with butter.  Broil until light brown on top.