www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com 89 WBM How To Steam Blue Crabs chef trinity hunt’s Steamed Blue Crab Recipe Chef Trinity Hunt, Boca Bay, is a Marylander. His steamed blue crab recipe is as simple as they come: Fill one quarter pot with liquid. Hunt suggests a combination of salted water and a light-colored beer, with Old Bay or pre-packaged Maryland crab spice. (The beer will add a little flavor to the crab while the alcohol is burned off when cooking.) Fill half the pot with live blue crabs. Steam for 12-15 minutes, until shells are bright orangey red. Reserve the leftover liquid and mix with melted, drawn or browned butter to season. pointers Use a steam pot equipped with a basket insert or a steam rack that fits snugly in the bottom, and a tight-fitting lid to prevent crabs from escaping the steam bath. Heat water on medium high heat to boil. Using long-handled cooking tongs, layer two or three live crabs into the steaming water bath, belly side down. Sprinkle with crab spice. Repeat layer with two or three live crabs. When steamed, remove with tongs and dash with more seasoning. pot likker Instead of beer, a 50/50 mix of white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar and water can be used to fill the bottom of the pot to approximately 1 inch. The vinegar helps separate the meat from the shell. Do not allow the liquid to boil off unless you like your crabs with a smoky taste and a burnt pot. spice mixes Prepackaged Maryland crab spice mixes are supplied by JO Spice. A 32-ounce package will season a bushel of crabs, approximately five to six dozen in a bushel. For variations, Old Bay is the main ingredient in many spice mixes; some add black pepper, coarse salt and/or dry mustard, oth-ers prepare their own from scratch, experimenting with this list: sizing crabs Blue crabs are sized by the watermen who trap them. A No. 1 Jimmy is the biggest male crab caught at any point in time. They may be called Colossal, Legend or Jumbo, shown respectively from the bottom. The size of a No. 1 escalates as the season progresses. If you can, find a crabber and get the No. 1s right off the boat, says Marylander Patrick Fitzgerald. Crabs shed their shells during the new moon and hide in the weeds while their new shell is form-ing. As the new moon approaches, crabs tend to be heavier as a whole. Generally, if the belly of the crab is white, the shell is newer. If the belly is darker, then the shell is older and the crabs tend to be heavier. If the crabs are heavy, or full of meat, a large crab is better than a Jumbo that is light. Female crabs, or sooks, tend to be smaller and may be egg carriers, shown at top. Bay leaves Celery seed Whole cardamom Mustard seed Whole cloves Sweet Hungarian paprika Mace Nutmeg Cloves Ginger Crushed red pepper Cayenne pepper Cinnamon Thyme Allspice COLE DITTMER
2014-8
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