How to Cook Blue Shell Crabs
When selecting your seafood from the market, choose only shellfish that is still alive. Watch the crabs until you notice some leg movement. Transfer the live crabs to a cooler with ice for the ride home from the market. Keep the crabs on ice until you are ready to cook them. Immediately discard dead crabs, as they will quickly spoil. You may either boil blue shell crabs or steam them with a double boiler. Serve with your choice of seasonings. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Double boiler
- Pot
- Pepper
- Salt
- Seafood seasoning
- Lemon juice
- Butter
- Tartar sauce
Instructions
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1
Fill the lower half of a double boiler about one-half to three-quarters full of water. Place it on the stove and set the burner to high heat.
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2
Wait for the water to boil. Add the crabs to the top pot and set it on top of the lower pot.
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3
Allow the crabs to cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, as recommended by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The crabs should turn bright orange and the meat should be firm and white.
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4
Fill another pot with enough cool water to cover the crabs. Sprinkle your preferred seasonings into the water. You may wish to add pepper, salt and a seafood seasoning mix. Add more or less to taste.
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5
Transfer the cooked crabs to the seasoned water. Allow them to sit in the water for about five minutes to soak up the seasonings.
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Serve with fresh lemon juice, melted butter or tartar sauce.
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Tips & Warnings
Boil crabs in one large pot if you do not have a double boiler. You may either completely cover the crabs in water or add just a few inches of water and stack the crabs to the top of the pot.
After the crabs shed their hard shells, they are called soft-shell crabs.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit crabs image by Bionic Media from Fotolia.com
