"Market Price"

[chef2sail]

John...dont get me wrong I love the Dungeness too. The people here in MD worship the blue crab though ( I am from Philadelphia and South Jersey originally). It has an extremely delicate sweet taste. I really mystifies me why they put that overpowering Old Bay on it which camaflougues the true essance of the blue clawed crab.

Most people do not undrstand why prices are the way they are in restuarants and feel ripped off.The cost of the raw food for the restaurant usally makes up only 1/4 of the true cost for menu items and never more than 1/3 usually. There is labor, beneifits, insurance, legal health codes, utilities, unenemplloyment taxes, rent or mortage..etc, Seems everyone who eats feels they can cook...have great recipes that will work...but when the rubber meets the road...and those recipes are used oin restaurants, the general public usually speaks with a resounding NO.

Dave

[SailKing1]

I am one of those that likes old bay on steamed crabs. Probably has to due with being raised to eat them that way. When I was little dad would put three red bricks in the bottom of a 10 gallon trash can, fill to top of bricks with beer, dump in crabs, add old bay and fresh corn on the cob on top, cover and steam on a charcoal grill.

Once crabs steamed they were dumped on a picnic table and everyone gathered around until they were gone. When it was all over a hole was dug in the sand about 3 ft deep halfway between the house and the bay and the remains were buried.

The old bay IMO has a good contrast with the sweetness of the meat chef referred to. On the other hand when it comes to crab cakes I do not like anything added other than egg white to help hold them together while being grilled.

[SVCarolena]

I grew up in New England, and we always bought lobster from the docks. My dad and I also fished for alwifes when they were running in the late spring, kept them in the big freezer in the basement until late summer when bait prices would go up, then we took them to the docks and traded with the lobstermen for lobster. Great memories.

[WouldaShoulda]

Originally Posted by jrd22

(boiled within an hour or so after catching)

Boiling??

That's the problem right there.

Steam them!!

[WouldaShoulda]

Originally Posted by chef2sail

The people here in MD worship the blue crab though ( I am from Philadelphia and South Jersey originally). It has an extremely delicate sweet taste. I really mystifies me why they put that overpowering Old Bay on it which camaflougues the true essance of the blue clawed crab.

We would also clean the crab before steaming, and flavor with garlic and vinigar as an alternative.

I like the clean before steaming method as the lungs and mustard are all gone.



Wye river c. 1978

[josrulz]

jrd22, I'd say on average, we each eat about 6 crabs for a meal. If they really are big #1s, maybe fewer. So while they are expensive, we personally can feed a couple people on a dozen, easy.

Of course, as others have pointed out, while we do go out for crabs occasionally, we also just purchase them live locally. Usually about $10 for a dozen, right up the street from our house.
-J

[jrd22]

Originally Posted by WouldaShoulda

Boiling??

That's the problem right there.

Steam them!!

No problem at all. What I call boiling is a few inches of water in the bottom of the 4 gallon pot and when the water comes to a boil we put the crab (we clean them first, the debate about which is best is never ending) into the inner basket. When the froth, or boil as we call it, covers the crabs we cook them for 15 minutes and then immerse them in ice water and rinse a couple of times (unless we are going to eat it hot). This is making me hungry, we're going to the first crab feed of the year in a couple of hours