Steamed Blue Crabs

Another one of our family favorites hails from Baltimore, David's birth town and it's a blue crab feast.  Like crawfish, we usually buy our live blue crabs from either Fiesta Supermarket or an Asian market.  For our family of five, we buy about 10-12 pounds. Spread out a good layering of newspaper to cover your table.  Have plenty of crackers on hand to crack into the very hard shells.  Serve with "Old Bay" and an icy cold beverage and feast away.

10-12 pounds of live blue crabs
Old Bay Seasoning
Salt

Pour the crabs into one side of the sink, and spray them to clean them.  Then, mix up a cup of Old Bay and salt.  Begin to boil a large pot with only a couple inches of water in it.  Put a vegetable steamer into the pot to keep the crabs out of the water, and layer the crabs onto the steamer.  Once you’ve got a good layer of crab, generously sprinkle the Old Bay/Salt mixture on the crabs, then another layer of crabs, etc...

Let the water boil as the crabs steam for approximately 12 minutes.  Once the crabs are a red color, take them out and put them in a large plate or bowl.  Spread newspaper on the table and serve with cold beer for adults and ice-cold lemonade for the kids.

**A great recipe for the leftover crab is my Aunt Bette's easy, but delicious crab dip. 

Bette's Crab Dip