⚓Know How to Handle a
Wily Blue Crab Catch!
Unpacking a home delivery of blue crabs requires skill in taming the snapping crustacean. The effort will definitely bring a delicacy of the Chesapeake Bay right to your feasting table. A dozen, half bushel, or even bushel arrive in a custom crab cooler with the perfect amount of gel packs to keep them chilled and alive through the trip to your choice crab feast location. Your backyard patio, a firehall in your neighborhood, your friendly grandma’s house, or anywhere you choose to live the "True Maryland Blue Crab Experience" is fair game for a delicious delivery. In fact, we’ll ship overnight to deliver our pots to your steamers. The key is to use some common sense when handling these sly blue crabs. Tame them down with a cold-water bath to remove any dirt or debris from their shells and with tongs, carefully position them in an ice bath for about 30 minutes. They will fall into dormancy, which will allow them to steam without dropping their claws. Plus, it allows the home chef to position them ideally in the pot.
As far as a pot, make it a stock pot with a bottom grate. Fill up the bottom with 2:1:1 ratio of water, beer, and vinegar and bring the mix to a boil. Make sure the liquid doesn’t cover the grate. The water will ensure tenderness, while the beer infuses a hoppiness. Of course, the vinegar keeps the meat from sticking to the shells. When ready, place the crabs on the grate, no more than two layers high, and spice each with JO Spice #2 with large flaky salt crystals and seasonings that stick to the crab, better than other brands that simply wash off from the steam. Cover the pot tightly and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until the shell transforms into a brilliant orange. Some enthusiasts test a claw for doneness. The meat should boast an opaqueness, void of any translucency or jelly-like texture. Others play it right with a thermometer, looking for a temperature of 145°F.
The results. Amazing! Salty-sweet, robust jumbo, lump, and claw meat infused with a peppery pop from the bay spices. Nothing tastes fresher than a steamed blue crab directly removed from the steamer to the plate. Get those mallets tapping, seafood forks exploring, and your taste buds rejoicing with hot clarified butter that gives a nuttiness to the dunked meat. Possibly, mix up a DELMARVA favorite with apple cider vinegar, bay spices, tomatoes purred, and brown sugar for a traditional sauce. No matter how you crack it, keep the experience real with bread-and-butter corn-on-the-cob, crispy cool coleslaw, creamy potato salad, and moist corn bread. Hungry yet? Well, good news: we just caught another healthy catch of wily blue crabs!
For the "True Maryland Blue Crab Experience.”
Maryland's Finest Blue Crabs delivered to your door directly from Baltimore!
* Please note that Live Crabs are not always available for Next Day Shipping due to its availability. Please call us first and we can let you know when they can be shipped.
**We are not responsible for any dead loss on live crabs. If you are concerned about dead loss, we recommend ordering steamed crabs.
***Live Crabs MUST always ship with Overnight Delivery, to ensure quality. We only allow OVERNIGHT SHIPPING.
