Florida's Renewable Resource

[Big Will]

I had a handfull of these last night.

http://www.carolinaskiffowner.com/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=325

They are Stone Crab Claws. Fishermen are allowed to take claws at least 2 3/4 inches long and are required to return stone crabs safely to the water. The stone crab can regenerate its claws three to four times.

http://www.carolinaskiffowner.com/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=326

Of course I had to have some fried Redfish to go with 'em...

http://www.carolinaskiffowner.com/picture.php?albumid=22&pictureid=327

[Willie]

I had heard that, was there supposed to be a picture in there somewhere? *006*

[Willie]

since you posted about these, I just had about 18 given to me by one of my suppliers...he and a buddy had 30 lb worth shipped in from fla. last night..... he had promised me some in exchange for the hard shell blue crabs I bring him during the summer from NJ. They are good, how do you prepare them....hthey were already to eat and he had a mayo,dejon mustard mix to dip it in, kinda overpowered the taste of the crab though....

[Big Will]

Most claws you and I will get are ready to eat - the fishhouses cook them at the time they are recieved at the dock.

I like mine plain, nothing added...

[Willie]

all gone and they were good...*yay*............. can't wait to get some hardshell blues in a couple of weeks............*thumbsup*

[Shakespeare]

Willie... you're gonna have to teach me the fine art of blue crab shuckin' 'cause I'd starve to death trying to get any meat off of one at the rate I go. *006*

[Willie]

Willie... you're gonna have to teach me the fine art of blue crab shuckin' 'cause I'd starve to death trying to get any meat off of one at the rate I go. *006*

Shake, I just noticed this from you, sorry...I am know pro at it but do manage to get enough feasting in when I get the time and the crabs, but here is a good link for showing the technique of gettin it done to a hard shell blue ..... enjoy.... http://www.vims.edu/adv/ed/crab/pick.html enjoy enjoy *thumbsup*

[Shakespeare]

Mucho thanks there Willie! :cool:

[Dave]

Looks mighty good Will. I remember eating lots of stone crab claws, as a kid in the FL Keys. I've caught a few here in NC (at the base of the Ft Macon rock jetty) but not enough to get excited about.

In NC, I expect it's the same most other states, you are allowed to take one (only) claw from a stone crab IF there is another left for the crab to eat and defend itself.

Cook 'em just like boiled king crab claws, blue crabs, lobster, shrimp, etc. Crack em like you would main lobster claws - with a nut cracker and dip em in drawn and salted butter!!!

Pickin blue crabs is a learned art and well worth the effort, made much more enjoyable if you have a mess of big Jimmy's, just before molting -crab is heavy and the shell full of meat. Even better, get a few softshell Jimmy's, dress em, roll em in flour, fry em up in butter and slap one between two slices of fresh bread.

Dave

[Willie]

Never had a softshelled one......gonna have to go visit my kid in MD and try one out...*Cheers*

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

The best soft shell crabs i had was in Atlanta GA.Man, they were delicious.

[RAAB]

Being from Maryland I went to the Keys on my honeymoon almost 15 years ago(gotta get back there) and saw crab claws on the menu at one of the Key West bars so I ordered a plate, I think I got like 6 claws and they were cold when served but good (ok). Kind of cool how the crabs are returned to generate new claws.
Up here in the "land of good living" along the Chesapeake bay we steam (not boil) our (blue) crabs whole with a spice called Old Bay and Rock Salt and dump them on newspaper by the dozens out on the picnic table and have a crab feast. Oh yea you must drink beer while picking them. These are very expensive about 30-60 a dozen depending on size
And on this past Saturday I had two softshell crabs served on white bread (another must)with Mayo/Lettuce/Tomatoe and of course pan fried.
.....man I am getting hungry.

[Willie]

Welcome aboard to ya Rabb.......what part of MD are ya from, I have a boy in Baltimore and one in Towson...... Oh yea you must drink beer while picking them that is the gospel truth too and they are lots of fun to catch, seems to me they taste better when we do the catchin.............*Cheers**Cheers*

[Dave]

Steamed with old bay is a traditional way of fixin' em here too, RABB. I just happen to prefer the boiled in sea water act myself without all the seasoning. Might through in a PBR or two at the start. Either way, it all goes better with plenty of bottled Miller light iced down for the pickin' party.

30-60 a dozen - Wooahhh. In this area last year, live blue crabs were going for 6 bucks a dozen in local seafood markets, right up until the season ended.

Dave

[RAAB]

I grew up in Norheast Baltimore now I live about 30 miles Northeast of the city line, in Harford County, close to Havre De Grace, MD on the upper Chesapeake bay where the Susquehanna River feeds the bay. Crabs are crazy, people will spend lots of money on them, 100-175 a bushel live is average if you can get them and the sellers usually run out of them. I usually wait til Sept or Oct and get the fatter ones for a lesser price, once the weather warms everyone will spend their money on crabs, I need my money for gas!
Towson is a nice area and there are somevery nice areas in Baltimore, some notso nice, but I am sure your boys are good.
The regulations are differnet this year in the Bay to catch crabsas the DNR says that numbers are low, hopefully the changes will help protect the resource for the future, years back they banned Rockfishing (striped bass) and then opened it up with great results, now alot of the guys I know think the Rockfish are eating the crabs....go figure.
6 dollars a dozen is what prices were 20 years ago around here, you are fortunate and most of the crabs sold here come from North Carolina or the Gulf from what I have heard.
Cheers!

[sportskiff]

OK,
I have TRIED to eat a softshell crab, and it weren't "yummy" as described. Mabe one of you "crab kings" outta put a reciepie in the ol' cook book. Mine was cold, watery, and just thrown on a plate. Trust me, lemon juice wasn't the thing to add niether.
Since it was a nice friendly jester to recieve such a " local speciality" at a guy's house that had turned me and a pal onto the shrimpin at Parris Isl, I ate the whole thing...... The ride from Port Royal to Lexington (SC) was spent wanting to stop and lick every cat's butt for 20 minutes that we went by.......just to remove the taste from my mouth. ( if we had an ucky face I'd put it in here now)
Beer didn't help, as I was bombed (not me drivin) by the 2.5 hr ride home.
I woke up the next am and swore I could still burp it up....... good thing I didn't get sick, so it probbably werent a bad one.
An hey Top, (First sarge) quote"Might through in a PBR or two at the start"
That red nek a showin bub....;D
Reggie

[Big Will]

Reggie, that was a bad experience! I'm inclined to say that the cook may have been bombed too... no softshell crab I've ever eatten made me want to do that, infact they left me looking for more. A good softshell crab tastes like everything you love about a boiled/steamed blue crab and unlike the fort knoxs like drawbacks of the hard shell yeilds all of its meat and flavor to a simple bite as its shell frys into a super thin crispy coating.

Come to think of it I don't think anything has ever made me want to lick a cats ***... dang you guys were bombed!;D*Cheers**thumbsup**ROTFLMAO*

[Dave]

Can't help with the "cold" part but "watery" - Reggie, it sounds like it was steamed or boiled. That's definitely NOT the way to prepare a soft shell crab.

There are a few things that have to come together before the cooking process, to insure a good experience at the dinner table. The crab has to be cultivated, selected at the proper moment, and then stored and cleaned properly.

My good friend, the late Pete Tripp, had one of the largest commercial crabbing operations around these parts. He would let me fill my fish box with crushed ice from his ice house when I would travel by his operation on my to way fishing out of Harker's Island. He had several hundred yards of crab troughs that he kept (soon to molt) crabs so they could monitor their progress. They checked them several times a day and culled the softshells out at just the right time. Anyway, you have to start out with softshell crabs that have just molted there shell, not happen upon a few that are at some stag of the process, like you might if you catch them yourself. Then of course, you have to know how to clean them properly - many don't. Cooking is the easiest part. Pat dry, roll in seasoned flour and sautee or fry in butter (I usually use 50/50 mix of butter and cooking oil) for a few minutes on each side.

Here's a couple links I found that may help.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/MJ94_Cleaningshellfish.pdf

http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/cs/techniques/package/0,14343,733518,00.html

Dave

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Dave, i tried my self so many times to cook the "correct", never happened.I had ask the shef that cooked those crabs at the restaurand in Atlanta how he does it and his answer was "are trying to get my job", so i did not pursuit any further.I try every online recepe i could find, nada, they tasted worst than Reggies.