Let the preparation be the joyful mysteries of culinary experiences.

I’ve dreamed about them since a visit to Ocean City, MD, about 50 years ago. I’ve never encountered one since then. My family went there a couple years ago, and I still haven’t stopped ridiculing them for not getting a soft shell crab sammich.

You can order the uncooked soft shell crabs from Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=soft+shell+crabs&crid=22T626Q0LCMCZ&sprefix=Soft+shell%2Caps%2C85&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_6_10

Bread them then pan fry and serve. They’re a bit expensive but we tried them a couple of times during the pandemic and they were terrific!

Since then, we’ve been to the Outer Banks a few times and there are few things as delicious as fresh crab.

Good luck!

As you say, they’re marvelous fresh, and even if I paid an outrageous price for some, it’d be difficult to recreate the ambience of the mid-Atlantic shore. I’ve never been big on vacationing on the beach, as I get restless after a day of lounging in the sun and surf. Others in my family - my wife included - like it, so I’ll do some lobbying for a place like the Outer Banks that features natural beauty over the touristy things in resort towns.

Deep fried Bristol Bay red king crab. King crab roe is also pretty good. Kinda tastes like bacon.

I’ve had roe from freshwater fish that tasted like chicken. Chicken eggs, that is.

Pan fried soft shell crabs are a favorite.

Lump crab meat is delicious. We bought a can recently and made a stash of crab cakes.

There’s a restaurant on Maryland’s Salomon’s Island (the Lighthouse) that serves a crab meat soufflé that makes the trip entirely worth the effort!

We sometimes buy the blue crabs frozen to save for later treats.

Just remember: Eat fresh crabs only in months that end in an “R” because the crabs need colder water to prevent bacteria.

Hope you and your family are well!

We may be sailing to a rendezvous at Solomons later in the summer. I'll let you know!

All's well here (but socked in today.)

quiche, soup - bisque, chowder or tomato-base and these are just the most well-known ways to prepare them.
My grandfather crabbed in the Assateague Bay from his boyhood days to his late 70's, making a living from it during most of that time. I seem to remember that in his last years professionally crabbing he made $25 per bushel; today it's more like $300 a bushel.
Fresh crabs are available from April to mid-December and if you must have them in the other months, try frozen. (Oysters are the ones that you only eat in the cold weather months)
My favorite crabs are from the Chester River, Chesapeake Bay and Assateague Bay. Yes, if you've been eating crabs your whole life, there really is a difference in the taste from the different waterways.
I'll be back in Maryland in 2 months and am looking forward to crab season.

Oops.

Crab Imperial is amazing. So is she-crab soup.

Last year, my wife and I spent about six weeks sailing around the Chesapeake on our way south to Florida. I think I we depleted the crab stock significantly!

By the way, when we got to North Carolina, shrimp replaced crab in our food fetish!

6 weeks sailing on the Chesapeake Bay - wow! If you're interested, there is a great book called Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay by William Warner.

Have a good week.

(There’s still some crab left in the Chesapeake!)

I am allergic to shellfish!!!

She did not used to be. Hell, she is why I love anything from the ocean, lake, or river. But she developed it as she got older and now she can barely eat salmon and tuna. I know that sucks, because she loved it so much.

Mind you, I haven't had Maryland Crab Cakes, which I understand are pretty good.

-- Mal

We used to go crabbing on the causeway on the Outer Banks. That evening, we would boil them up and dump them all on the table and go to it!

(There was a tradition at The Lost Colony, called 'Crab Carnage', where they would buy pounds of crabs, shrimp and clams and cook them all up and dump them on a big table. We used to go swimming in the sound in between 'dumps' to wash off and just to enjoy the evening.)

On the shores of Lake Pontchatrain. It’s been way too long.

with drawn butter for occasional dipping.




I’ll eat blue crab but it’s too much work. Better had as a social event, crackin’ and pickin’ crabs with a few friends– that I do enjoy.

Crabs mean Stone Crabs.
Proper lobsters have no claws.

You need a nutcracker to get in, but the claws are the best meat on a crab.

Crabs grow by shedding their shells and growing new ones. It takes the crab about three hours to harden the new shell. If you catch and kill the crab in that time period, you can eat the shell.

There is a small window of time when the peeler crab must be removed from the seawater to ensure that the shell doesn't start to harden. The new soft shelled crab, legs included, is then cleaned and refrigerated before becoming that delicious fried soft shell sandwich. This delicacy is not for everyone, especially when they see those little legs sticking out of the sandwich sides. lol

With garlic buttered sourdough bread and Cesar salad.

paper, a bucket of freshly steamed crabs ...

That was ages ago. I hope she's still well.

..and a bib