Maryland Steamed Crabs and Summertime

I live in Baltimore, MD and I can remember at an early age my parents and family sitting down at the picnic table in our back yard and eating steamed crabs and watching the baseball game on television. If that is not living then you haven't been to Maryland.

One of the pleasures that we look forward to is Chesapeake Bay Steamed Blue Crabs. We had our first steamed crabs of the season last Sunday and will continue to have them until late October. Now you have to understand that not everyone has a taste for steamed crabs, many people who do not live on the east coast have probably not even heard of the Steamed Maryland Blue Crabs, let alone thinking about eating them. But they are a delicacy that you will see Marylanders standing in line on a Sunday afternoon and laying out upwards to $60.00 a dozen and not thinking much about the expense, just the anticipation of enjoying those tasty crabs.
Eating a meal of steamed crabs is not a fast food item, there is a definite technique in this meal, it is meant to be enjoyed in comfort, flip flops, shorts, tee shirts, summer breezes, beer on the table, steamed corn on the cob, brown paper lining the table or just plain old newspaper as a catch all for the shells. Turn on the television set or radio and listen to the baseball game in the background, its great.
You can buy the crabs already steamed and ready to eat or you can steam them yourself. My husband steams a mean crab, we would normally either go crabbing ourselves or buy them live and steam them at home. We will get around three to four dozen depending on if my son and his girlfriend are over for the afternoon, tell him steamed crabs and he is there like a bullet. Here is a recipe for you:
Three dozen live blue crabs. Tongs to pick up the crabs, remember that they are alive when you lay them in the steamer, put them on ice first until you are ready
½ cup Old Bay Seasoning
½ cup of Salt
1 whole can of beer, if you don't like beer you can use water, we prefer the beer, Micholoeb lite is great, so is Coors lite
1 Large steaming pot, the one with the rack on the bottom to put your vinegar and beer in
¼ cup of garlic salt, some people don't like this but we think it adds flavor as the crabs steam
2 cups of vinegar
Instructions:
We like to layer the crabs and season them as we go along, you can easily place three or four to a layer, place the crabs in the pot, sprinkle with the seasoning and beer on them, and continue on until they are tucked tightly in the pot, remember to pour the beer into the pot and season on top when you are close to the top. Close the lid tightly down and steam for around thirty minutes, you will know that they are done when the shells turn a dark orange.
1. To eat a steamed crab is an art in itself. You will be eating these without the benefit of forks, you use your hands, so have plenty of paper towels on the table. Dump the steamed crabs on the middle of the table, pick the one that you want . pull off the legs and put them on the side for later, then turn it over so that its belly is facing you, remove the apron, insert the tip of your knife or after you have the hang of it your fingers will do just fine, pull it up and back and the top shell will come off. Remove the gills, you will see these as soon as the shell is removed, just take the knife and clean it away. Now take what remains and break it down the center so that there are two halves, the crab meat is there waiting for you to eat. After you have eaten the center of the crab go back to the claws that you have pulled off, here you will use your crab mallet or a plain old butter knife to break open the shell, hit the shell close to where the pinchers are and pull back the meat will just slide out and you can enjoy.
2. Clean up is easy, after the meal is over, just roll up the newspaper that has lined your table put them in a trash bag and make sure that it is securely closed, then just toss it away.
Hope you enjoy this Maryland treat as much as we do.