Blue Crab and Gulf Shrimp Boil
Blue crabs are prevalent at the Texas Coast and along our Eastern seaboard. You can buy them at a seafood merchant, catch them in a crab trap, or be lucky enough to scoop them out of the surf with a net. We got lucky! It takes a bit of work to eat them, but well worth it for the deliciously sweet meat. Bring along a crab mallet for cracking the shells, but in a pinch, you can use your bare hands and a knife. That’s what we did. Use a pot large enough to fit 3 quarts of water plus the ingredients in the boil.
Serves 2-3 Prep time: 5 min Cook time: 30 min
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3 quarts water
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¼ cup crab boil spice mix, I used Zatarain’s Crawfish, Shrimp, & Crab Boil spice mix
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1 lemon cut into quarters
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1 tbsp salt
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1 rib of celery from the leafy inner part of the stalk
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2 garlic cloves, you don’t have to peel them
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3 red skin potatoes cut in half
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2 corn on the cob shucked and cut in half
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3 whole blue crabs
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½ pound large Gulf shrimp, shell on
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2 tbsp butter
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2 tbsp lemon juice
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salt to taste
Build a fire and allow it to burn down so there are hot coals. This will take about an hour. We dug a hole in the sand on the beach and started the fire in the hole to shelter it from the wind. Swedish Logs work really good for beach fires with a standing grill to go over it. Be sure to check local rules and regulations to be sure you are allowed fires on the beach. You can also make this dish on a camping stove or at home on the stove top.
Place a large covered pot with 3 quarts of water on the grill over the fire. Add crab boil spice, lemon, salt, celery and garlic cloves. Cover, and bring to a rolling boil. You may need to stoke up the fire with smaller kindling to get it hot enough to boil. When it’s boiling add the potatoes and cook until they are just able to be pierced easily with a knife, about 15-20 minutes. Add the corn on the cob, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, making sure the water returns to a strong boil after the addition of each ingredient. Add the blue crabs, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Finally, add the shrimp and boil for 2-3 minutes until they just start to turn red. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the boil to sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
While the boil is sitting, melt the butter with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a small pot or metal bowl. Remove all the boil ingredients from the main pot into a serving container. I like to cover the table with newspapers so that any shells and drippings can be rolled up and easily discarded. All diners can share eating out of a communal container and dipping into the pot of lemon butter. It does take work to remove the meat from the crabs, but I find it very satisfying and soooo worth the effort. The gills should be discarded, but there is a lot of meat in the claws and sides under the top shell. You can get step by step instructions on how to eat a blue crab
