Celebrating Summer: Feasting on Maryland's Famous Blue Crabs

After several overcast, rainy days, the sky cleared up. To honor the return of the sun and the cloudless summer day, we decided to have a crabfeast! Maryland is known for its blue crabs, which I find taste a little like buttery lobsters.

Preparing them is part of the ritual—it's a fairly labor-intensive process, involving little hammers and tongs to crack the hard shell and arms, and yields small returns. But, besides its delicious, rich taste (enhanced with Old Bay spice and melted butter) this summer event is more about honoring the season and the company gathered around the table, for several hours, to enjoy a messy feast along with cold beers.

Below, is a blow-by-blow account of the bushel of beautiful blue Maryland crabs, purchased and steamed alive (not for the faint of heart), then happily dismembered and consumed.

Here, is a short video of the snappy creatures fighting for dear life as we attempt to pick them up & drop them into a pot to be steamed:

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Once in the pot, we liberally sprinkle the spice and a splash of beer over half a dozen or so crabs, cover the pot for around 10 minutes and let them steam. As you can see, the color begins to change...

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Ta Da! The first one is ready & here are my little helpers...

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Does it look angry, or is that my guilty conscience?

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Like I said, only a little meat at a time (but worth it)!

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First batch is prepared & we’re ready to sit down

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Wishing you a delicious week ahead :)