Gone Crabbin' - Again!

As promised, here is a post about our most recent time out crabbing. This time, we were only there about 1 hour and we brought home 15 really nice sized crabs. Check them out...

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After last time, My Husband spent some time reading how to transport them properly. Seems that the best way is to take a bag of ice and put it in the bottom of your cooler. Then place some damp newspapers over the ice. The crabs can go in right on top of the newspaper, but you'll want to add a bit of water to keep them moist. Also, make sure none of them are upside down, turns out they can die that way. You want to keep them alive until it's time to cook them.

My Husband likes steaming the crabs rather than boiling. If you boil them, they get a lot of water inside them and it's messier cleaning them. Add water, vinegar and Old Bay Seasoning to your crab pot and bring up the heat so that it's ready for steaming. Put the crabs in and allow to steam for about 30 minutes. Here's what they should look like when they are finished.

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Once they are steamed we put them in the refrigerator to cool down so that they will be easier to handle. Next up, My Boys got a lesson in cleaning crabs from their Dad. I wish I could share the details on the process, but that's not my thing. Too much work for me! Now, I've got 3 people who will clean them for me.

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They were able to get about 1 pound of meat from all those crabs! Well worth an hour on a pier on a lovely afternoon. So, we made crabby patties again! We plan to go crabbing again since the season runs into October. Perhaps next time I can convince my boys to let me make something different with the crab meat... we'll see!

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Comments

Jenny said…
Love these pictures! Love your boys helping out, cute cute! I picture my boys being totally afraid!
Patsyk said…
Thanks, Jenny! Last year when we bought steamed crabs and brought them home to clean and eat, they wouldn't go near them. This year is a totally different story after we went crabbing! Crazy what a difference a year makes.
You are so fortunate to be able to get these fresh and FREE by catching them yourselves.

I love crab cakes. My friend and I were discussing all things crab last night.

Enjoy while you can!
Leah said…
Yum, Patsy! Last time I read one of your crabbin' posts I was craving crabby patties all afternoon ... guess I'll be dying for them again today! Cute boys, too. ;-)
Thistlemoon said…
Very nice crabs! I miss them! Growing up in MD they were a summer staple, but they are expensive here in FL. Nice post! I enjoyed it!
I would *love* to go crabbing someday!
Maggie said…
Crabbing sounds like so much fun! I love the pictures of the kids picking crabs.
Anonymous said…
We call these guys, or something very similar, Blue Manna Crabs. They're so good it's like they're from heaven!
Cate said…
Where do you guys go crabbing? The Husband takes Nick when we go down the shore, but is there someplace closer we're missing out on? The boys look like they're having a blast!
That Girl said…
I bet the boys just love preparing the crabs the caught themselves.
Dragon said…
I love crab and I wish I was sitting right there gobbling them up! Great photos.
amycaseycooks said…
Looks like another trip to the Shore for us. Where is your favorite crabbing spot?
Patsyk said…
We've been going down to Island Heights. It's a really nice little town. They have a pier that you can do it from... and up the street is a little ice cream shop where you can get a snack if you need it!
test it comm said…
Those crabs look good! They must be really nice so fresh.
Katy said…
AMAZING. does it get any fresher than that? i'm so jealous!

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