Old Bay Steamed Crabs

[Gerry Zagorski]

Quick and easy crab steaming recipe...

Get big steam pot and place steam rack on bottom to keep the crabs out of the liquid when steaming.

Poor in 2 cans of beer of choice.

Put a single layer of live crabs in the pot above the steam rack, squirt liberally with yellow mustard and sprinkle liberally with Old Bay seasoning.

Keep adding layers of crabs mustard and old bay until you fill pot 3/4 of the way.

Put the lid on the steam pot and leave it on.

Heat on high with lid closed for 25 to 30 minutes until all crabs are red. Cook time will vary based on the size and how many crabs you have in the pot.

I'd check at 20 mins and remove any small ones that are already red and leave the largess ones in longer.

We made 2 batches of 20 or so large males... First batch I cooked for 25 mins and some of the larger ones were not completely done.. Next batch I let them go the full 30 and they were perfect.

I never used to add the mustard because I didn't think Id like the taste but it does 2 things... 1) makes the old bay cling to the crabs better 2) when it mixes with the old bay and steam if gives them a hint of a vinegar taste and many of the traditional recipes call for a water and vinegar mix for steaming.

Enjoy!!

[Finprof]

Down in Chesapeake Bay we use JO instead of Old Bay because it is about 1/5 the price and the same stuff. Local supermarkets and sporting goods stores will sell knockoff JO even cheaper. We also use about half beer and half vinegar.
We purge the crabs before steaming. Put them in a sink full of fresh water for 5 minutes, change the water and keep them in for another 5 minutes.
It will get rid of all the mud and junk on the crabs and they will also rid themselves of feces in the sink instead of the steaming pot.