How do you steam live crabs?

During the warmer months, blue crabs can live through a commute across country. Of course, next day air lessens the risk of receiving a bushel filled with unlively crabs. Specialty coolers and cold packs keep the crabs at an ideal temperature so that they’re docile and conserving their energy for a “live crab delivery.” Depending on where you live, crab lovers cook their fresh catch delivered by UPS in regional ways. The South prefers boils, while the North demands steaming. Somewhere in between, a few diehards load up the grill with blue crabs. Today, we’ll discuss steaming, a sure method that keeps in the succulent juices, but avoids a water-logged crab.

Prepare your home “crab house.” Open up your crab cooler and separate live versus perished. Sometimes, a few won’t make the trip, so plan for this occurrence. The crab house crew even separate crabs this way before steaming for prepared orders. Find a stock pot and grate that will hold your quantity or plan 2 or 3 steamings based on what you can fit reasonably in the pot.

Some like it hot! Fill the bottom of the pot with salted water and place the grate on top, not submerged, but within an inch of the water. Bring it to a boil and then with long tongs, place the crab on the grate. In between layers, season with JO Spice #2, an ideal spice that has larger flakes then Old Bay, which means the spice will stick to the crab rather than quickly washing off. For about 17 minutes per dozen, 25 for half bushel, and 30 minutes for a bushel, set the timer and cover the lid. Near the end of the time, check the crabs. Their color changes from blue to a bright orange, a good sign. Along with the obvious, a delicious sweet, cooked meat smell should omit from the pot.

Time to Crack a Few! With the same tongs, but washed thoroughly clean, remove the crabs to a serving platter. Make sure your fans sit ready with wooden mallets for the claws, seafood forks to extract hard to reach crab morsels, and hot butter or our homemade dipping sauce for a feast for the history books!