Throw a Crab Feast like a Pro!

Nothing sets summer’s tone like spring’s first crab feast. Temps may feel comfortable now, but we all know spring can easily turn into raging summer heat in the afternoon. Realizing this fickle nature of Mother Nature, stalk the Weather Channel and plan alternative settings if need-be for your first crab feast. Start your planning with the flavors in mind: savory, robust, salty sweet steamed blue crabs with a spicy pop from a perfect mix of celery salt, paprika, and red pepper. This headliner guides all your preparations and paired tastes.

First, order your crabs based on Crab Depot’s easy planning calendar. Remember, a delivery on the day of the feast is ideal, but not necessary. A 7-minute warming will transform a chilled crab to a juicy delicacy majestically. A stock pot for reteaming ensures the meat stays moist and dusting the crabs with extra crab house signature spice livens up the crabs to super fresh tastes.  When it’s time for your party, set out the essentials: brown kraft paper for a durable canvas and easy clean-up, tools from mallets, knives to ramekins for butter or apple cider vinegar. Play some island music to put yourself in the mood as you set-up the feast and also to get your guests excited about the venue. If you’re worried about flies, turn on some fans. They keep those pesky flies away! Lastly, string lights and adorn the table with décor from seashells to bouquets of spring flowers to let everyone know it’s a FRESH Crab Feast.

First, order your crabs based on Crab Depot’s easy planning calendar. Remember, a delivery on the day of the feast is ideal, but not necessary. A 7-minute warming will transform a chilled crab to a juicy delicacy majestically. A stock pot for reteaming ensures the meat stays moist and dusting the crabs with extra crab house signature spice livens up the crabs to super fresh tastes.  When it’s time for your party, set out the essentials: brown kraft paper for a durable canvas and easy clean-up, tools from mallets, knives to ramekins for butter or apple cider vinegar. Play some island music to put yourself in the mood as you set-up the feast and also to get your guests excited about the venue. If you’re worried about flies, turn on some fans. They keep those pesky flies away! Lastly, string lights and adorn the table with décor from seashells to bouquets of spring flowers to let everyone know it’s a FRESH Crab Feast.

Accompany your crabs with delicious side-stars. Chilled seafood makes the feast calm and carefree. No need to rush with steamed shrimp, clam casino and raw oysters. The shrimp, caught in Gulf waters, boast a buttery complement to the crabs, while clam casino with half shelves smothered with bacon, butter, pepper and breadcrumbs adds sophistication. Time to impress with a slurp or two in-between a steamed crab with a Northeastern Oyster. Seafood Feasts taste better with All-American products. Don’t forget to wash down the deliciousness with a crisp, light lager or a freshly squeezed lemonade. With such exact preparations, you’ll throw a crab feast like a pro!    

(Posted by Crab House 3/24/26)

IQF Gulf Shrimp

makes for a Healthy Dinner!

Crab Depot’s shrimp trolley crew quickly flash freeze a fresh gulf shrimp harvest within hours after the catch. Individually Quick-Freezing blasts the bacteria from forming and ceases the downgrading of the texture from chemical preservatives like sulfites. No need to treat the shrimp for shelf life since the quick freezing takes care of this need.  The FDA and NOAA ensure USA shrimp live in a natural marine environment with a plentiful diet that will only enhance the crustacean’s taste. Their omnivorous diet of algae, plankton, detritus, and small invertebrates like worms make for shrimp with high omega 3s and a metallic-earthy and surprisingly buttery flavor when steamed or stir-fried.  

Freshness from frozen even serves up higher quality shrimp than pounds sitting on ice. Minerals, texture, taste, and even moisture “leach” out the shrimp when sitting on ice for days, but an IQF shrimp keeps its quality longer after thawing. Likewise, the method of IQF when comparing to other freezing methods outperforms with no crystals forming on the shrimp that will pierce the shells, causing a mushiness during the cooking process. In fact, the shrimp keeps its snappiness and also maintains all the oceanic flavors when quick frozen after the catch.

Keep it easy with IQF shrimp! Grab what you need from the freezer and avoid thawing a huge 5-pound block. Plus, preparing a pound or even half pound shrimp requires less cooking time and ensures your serving sizes match your needs. Remember though, to look at the label and make sure the shrimp trolleys harvested from USA waterways where sustainable catching methods attempt to avoid bycatch of turtles, seabirds and other mammals.  Not only does USA shrimp boast more robust meat, but the massive industry in the Gulf States respect safe waterways and the environment. Yes, IQF Gulf Shrimp makes for an all-around healthy dinner!

(posted 3/10/26 by Crab House)

Follow the Lifecycle of the Blue Crab!

Today, we take a trip through the life of a blue crab’s early egg embryo stage to its fierce snapping excursions around Thomas Point Shaol Lighthouse. “Callinectes Sapidus”, the Latin name for this armored crustacean, captures the sea creature’s essence. It translates as beautiful savory swimmer, but first a few incredible moves through the waterways and growing pains. The end result will create quite a delicacy.

Hidden from view and protected from predators by the male father crab, “jimmy”, a female crab or “sook” hides in the eelgrass and crevices to keep the egg sack out of sight from predators. Protruding from her abdomen with 8 million eggs, the sight marvels the crabber. Shining a light on the crab, you’ll notice a bright orange in color. These eggs, filled with yoke will remain orange until the embryo inside eats the nourishment and grows its eyes. At that point, the eggs will change from brown to black. Set the clock and come back in 2 weeks, and you’ll notice the black eggs ripping apart and the embryos following the currents to waters at the estuary’s mouth, close to the ocean. This higher salinity helps the crab begin its growing spurt. Still not a crab per se, it now enters the realm of a larvae.

Better known as zoea, you’ll notice a one-millimeter creature with a long spine and tail-like abdomen. Yes, they seem erratic with their movement, but they actively search out nourishment for their unsatiable appetites. Microscopic plankton and zooplankton floats by their miniature mouths, and for 30-45 days they will stay in this zoeal stage. Soon, they will transform into the tiny crab appearance, but a swim to the touristy spots like Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse and other destinations, surrounded by brackish waters and seagrass is the next step in transformation.

“Megalopa or Post-Larval Stage” terms this time as they spend 6-20 days eating larger plant particles and insects. Then, finally, they enter into the juvenile stage, measuring 2 millimeters. Examining their diet preference, you’ll notice them eating clams, small fish, and worms. They will also move into the tributaries away from the deeper bay waters for less salinity. At this stage, you’ll see peelers and busters as the crabs molt from their shells. In fact, the juveniles which absolutely now look like a blue crab, molt into larger shells every 3-14 days. The males boast brilliant blue claws and the females with a reddish hue. Both have an olive-green appearance. The growth rate intensifies as the crabs find nourishment and the calendar days turn. Their lifecycle reaches upwards to 3 years, but in colder waters as the Chesapeake Bay, they can extend their lives to 8 years!

(posted 2/24/26 by Crab House)

Grill your Tails with Ease!

Warm water tails naturally contain more water in their meat so grilling them with exact timing and temperature ensures cooking out this extra liquid and creating a plump, buttery result. Some chefs select broiling or baking, but grilling adds a smokiness and basting with butter leaves the diner crying out accolades to the chef. Harvested in warm, shallower waters, these spiny lobsters populate areas of the Caribbean from Mexico to Honduras, along the coast of Florida, and even to similar tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. All these regions offer a fresh catch to the home and restaurant chef, but a flash-freezing gives a longer shelf life and cooking calendar convenience.

A frozen lobster tail requires thawing before basting and lighting up the grill. Cooking a tail in a frozen state risks uneven results with a mushy to tough texture. Place the tail in the fridge overnight in a plastic bag that will keep refrigerator odors from seeping into the meat.  If you’re spontaneous with your menus, a 30-minute thaw in a bowl filled with cold water should do the trick. Once ready, take a large knife and cut the tail completely in half for the traditional grilling method. Keep the grilling simple. Halving the tail also showcases the cooked meat with the melted butter and spices. Also, be sure to remove the digestive track with a small knife or picking tool. Then it’s time for the basting and grilling. Light up the grill to 400 °F - 450°F., medium high heat. As far as the basting and seasoning, that’s the next step as the grill reaches the ideal temperature.

Some chefs have their own secret concoctions that matches their taste preferences, but you may want to try mixing unsalted butter with minced garlic, fresh ginger, lime juice and zest from the peels that give the mix a citrusy flavor. Shake Jamaican Pepper, thyme, salt, and pepper to liking on the liquid mix and whisk. At this time, the grates to the grill should have warmed and will respond well to an extra virgin olive oil brushing. Then place the tails, meat facing down and grill for 4-6 minutes. Brush the shells with more extra virgin olive oil. Once ready to turn, baste with your Caribbean mix on the meat. Close the grill and let the juices and seasonings, along with the smokiness of the grill transform your translucent tails into an opaque, firm and plump masterpiece. Internal temperatures will read 135 °F - 140°F. Quickly plate and serve. Even though spiney lobsters boast only the tail meat without the cold water’s feature of the claws, the diner will notice more meat yield per like sized tails. Bon Appetit! 

(posted 2/17/26 by Crab House)