Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS and How to Eat Them or not!

M. Gallipeau

1

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS and How to Eat Them M. Gallipeau

3

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

RIVETING INFORMATION Published in 2018 by Amazon Publishing 101 16 St NW, New York, New York 10001 t: 202-555-1111 / f: 202-555-7777 amazonpublishing@amazon.com Š Amazon Publishing Limited 2018 Author, Editor, Designer, Photographer and all around Badass: Mel Gallipeau Back cover and photo to the right is the author Mel Gallipeau demonstrating how NOT to eat crab ISBN 11111111111 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

4

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

5

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

1

2

Callinectes sapid us Introduction to Bl ue

Crabs

Love Me Some Crab Nice to Meet You

5

Little Guys Need Love Too Preservation and the Chesapeake Bay

6

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

6

He Likes the Mustard Interview With Jim Bob

3

Ye’ Old Crabbers

4

Life on the Bay Watermen Culture

History of Crabbing

7

50 Shades of Crab Recipes!

7

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

8 The End of the Book Index

8

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

CHAPTER

1

9

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Love Me Some Crabs

Nice to Meet You

1

LOVE ME SOME CRABS

Nice to Meet You

The blue crab is the love of my life. I was born on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, the region this flavorful creature also calls home, and after traveling the world, I can say that the Chesapeake Bay crab is by far the best crab there is.

I’ve talked to other well-traveled crab lovers, and they agree.

Unlike other crab varieties, which are boiled, we steam blue crabs here. The dis­tinctive flavor produced by steaming means that even the smallest crab will have piz­zazz. Steaming and eating blue crabs is a ritual, a way of life, for me and all of the oth­ers who live in the Chesapeake Bay region or come here in search of that wonderful Delmarva experience.

That’s why I decided to devote this, my eighth book and third cookbook, exclu­sively to recipes for the blue crab. You’ll find recipes here for main dishes, appetiz­ers, soups, crab cakes, and even a crab cheesecake — but don’t eat it for dessert! Most of the recipes are ones I created in my “Crab Lab”my kitchen using herbs and vegetables from my own garden. Other recipes came from friends, family, restau­rant chefs, and winners of the crab-cooking contests I’m frequently asked to judge. All of them have passed my taste test, and most have also been tried on my friends when they dropped by the Crab Lab. Some of the recipes have interesting sto­ries behind them. Crab Croquetas, for instance, comes from Smith Island, an isle in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay discovered by Captain John Smith of Pocahontas fame, and has been passed down for generations. And my own creation, Crabacado Lemon Bowls, resulted from trying to come up with a roll light enough to prop­erly handle a crab cake. I was kneading the dough, which I soon realized was too heavy, and before I knew it I had shaped it into a crab with legs and claws. I added raisins for eyes and lemon strips for antennae.

Delmarva: Delaware, plus Maryland, plus Virginia.

A term that only weathermen and I seem to use, as in, the “Delmarva Peninsula” region.

10

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

This is a book that celebrates not only blue crabs, but the blue crab culture as well. I’ve written about the life of the crab­bers — the watermen who fish for the crabs, setting out each day at 5:00 a.m. And I’ve included photos I’ve taken for the past 20 years, all over the Chesapeake Bay, of crab images on everything from police uniform emblems to taxicabs to restaurant signs.

It gives me great pleasure to share my love of crabs with you. Enjoy!

eau in all her

â–´ Author Mel Gallip ured above isite beauty pict exqu Smith Island off the coast of

11

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

12

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

ER A PT CH

2 Introduction to Blue Crabs

13

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

b ng female cra ri a e b g g e n â–´A r in an oyster ba crawls across and s, ice cream le k ic p f o h rc sea ge a foot massa

14

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

2

Introduction to Blue Crabs

Blue crabs are found in abundance along the eastern seaboard but prefer waters that range from ocean saltiness to fresh — thus the Chesapeake Bay provides ideal condi­tions. Life begins in the Lower Bay, where female or “sponge” crabs deposit their eggs between the first of June and the end of August. The baby crabs look very unlike the mature crab and more like a swimming question mark. This “zoea” sheds its shell several times, and when it begins to resem­ble the adult, it is called a “megalops.”

Typically, crabs hatch in late June, pass through the larvae stage by August, and start to move up the Bay during early fall or until cold weather halts their migration. In the spring, their journey is resumed and full maturity is reached when they are twelve to fourteen months old.

In order to increase its size, a crab must molt (shed its outer skeleton). As it approaches a molt, it is called a “peeler.” As it actually sheds its old shell it becomes a “soft” crab. It is then velvety in texture and roughly a third again as large as the dis­carded crab shell.

During their struggle for existence, crabs frequently lose legs and claws. Within a week of such loss, a new appendage begins to form, but it takes at least two moltings to fully restore the limb. For some reason, the crab population is very variable and a plentiful season may be followed by a lean one.

Regeneration: Blue crabs can regrow completely new appendages in just two to three moltings cycles. Part crustacean, part Terminator.

◂ A blue crab showing you to the gun show Callinectes sapidus

15

16

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

C

PT HA

ER

3 Ye’ Old Crabbers History of Crabbing

17

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

3

YE’ OLD CRABBERS

History of Crabbing

18

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

The area where watermen probably first became a group making a living solely from the Bay is quite possibly same as where they are most numerous today.

An early tobacco factor described it as a land full of “convicts, bugs, keetoes, worms of every sort, both land and water, spiders, hornets, wasps, sea nettles, ticks, gnats, thunder and lightening, excessive heat, excessive cold and other irregularities in abundance. He referred, of course, to parts unwanted by landsmen or marshlands of the lower Eastern Shore in what are today the ties of Dorchester, Wicomico and Somercet in Maryland Accomack in Virginia.

Historical references to the first watermen are very few.

What is known is that by 1660, religious and political dissidents from the south of the Virginia peninsula moved north to the shores of the Patuxent River near present-day Crisfield to settle tracts of land granted by Cecilius Calvert, Maryland’s second Lord Propri who thus hoped to secure some disputed boundary land from Virginia. The dissidents were for the most part people of means. They settled the firm land far up the great rivers of the Eastern Shore with Indian names such as the Wicomico, the Nanticoke and the Pocomoke. Here they lumbered through thick forests of loblolly pine and attempted, not always successfully, to grow tobacco. Others of humbler stature, who probably wanted no more than to be left alone from all forms of government, also followed and settled the marshlands at the mouths of these same rivers or crossed over Tangier Sound to what Captain John Smith had called the Isles Limbo. They became true watermen.

By the late seventeenth century, the marsh settlers were numerous enough to cluster in small communities. New and rather old place names began to fill blank spaces on the map. The names themselves bear testimony to the settlers’ early impressions of a land so rich in insect life and other irregularities. In Dorchester County flowing into the Hunger River (now Honga) is a particularly labyrinthine waterway called World’s End Creek.

It rises from Lowery Island.

Lower Hooper’s Island, is a place known as Men’s Burial Point. Town names are equally expressive, in the manner of the Imonagany, Daveal and Deebaugh Island, for example, was long known as Dee, the change having been effected by a prominent minister early in the nineteenth century.

The nearby towns, Quarter invariably appears as Deebaugh. Smithbaugh Island, an eighteenth-century town, is now known as Rhodes Point. “Use to be called Point Pass,” an elderly islander once explained, and said, “they was pirates here, all right”. In Williamsburg, for example, eighteenth-century records speak with pride of a regularly established market selling excellent meats, fowl, fish, crabs and oysters. For the rest they fished, possible napped, caught crabs, and harvested oysters.

◂ Ten men pose with their bounty, c. 1900. Courtesy of the Mariners’ Museum and Park.

Ye’ Old Crabbers

19

20

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

With the furs from trapping, the wealth of the Bay marshes were difficult to convert into economic gain. Oysters and muscles are others. The Virginia watermen who caught them had advantages. They could go out on the water part-time, when conditions were best, since they had the alternative of a real agriculture. This was principally the cultivation of tobacco, which much better on the western shore’s well drained lands. The settlers of the Eastern Shore marshes became the skilled watermen. They had nothing else to lose.

Until the Revolution, that is. Privateering and the conflict loyalties that agonized Maryland during the struggle for independence placed an unexpected premium on those who knew the waters well, especially the intricate shallows of the Eastern Shore. Loudly proclaiming their loyalty to the Crown, many Eastern Shore watermen captured trading vessels and plundered up-river, plantations almost from the outbreak of hostilities, at first with and then without British support. Those engaged in these practices used shallow draft “barges” or swift combination rowing-and-sailing vessels. Contemporary records indicate the barges were often large as 91 feet straight, 24 feet beam, 275 tons, liberally arm with long-bore and rarely troublesome (further identification is impossible; nearly half the inhabitants of Tangier, then as now, held the Flame of Crockett.) The bargemen came to be known as picaroons, a ven­erable term of Caribbean origin synonymous with privateer. As their depredations grew, other watermen were engaged by hard-pressed-patriot militia forces to battle with them in whatever ships or small craft were available.

The captain explained, he “...has thrown several of our men the axes and some into fluxes.”

A misunderstanding in comunications, not diarrhea, brought defeat in the company.

By 780 picaroon attacks were so widespread, extending even to patriot strongholds on the western shore, that Governor Thomas Sim Lee of Maryland found it necessary to appeal to Governor Thomas Jefferson, then his counterpart in Virginia, for help and joint action. Governor Jeffer­s on responded nobly by providing a ship bearing his own name and 66 eighteen-pounders, smaller cannon, and swivel guns. Favored hiding places were the large uninhabited marsh islands at the north end of Tangier Sound, the Pocomoke estuary and Tangier Island, where one “old Crockett” was to work with the Marylanders. “The clearing of all of the pickeroons which infested it was attended to the then brig.

◂ This man is packing

live crabs into barrels for shipment. Photo taken in Oxford in 1899.

Jefferson was intolerable readiness,” Jefferson wrote to Annapolis.

“Commodore Bar sailed as far as Tangier Island and took as many as he could man, then he returned.” He noted in the same however, that he had not yet received the most recent intelligence from the joint Maryland Virginia task force. “But they were to sweep the Bay clean of this trash, and I have doubt it was done,” Governor Jefferson concluded.

The exclaimed, “Oh, God! It is all over!”, the picaroon events. As late as 1782, in fact, a patriot fleet of five barges supply schooner met an equal force of picaroons and soon met in the Kedges Straits.

Ye’ Old Crabbers

21

22

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

4 CHAP

TER

LIFE ON THE BAY Watermen Culture 23

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

It’s essential that we work to re-establish oysters for ecological and economic reasons

4

LIFE ON THE BAY

Watermen Culture

Watermen and farmers have been the backbone of the Eastern Shore for more than 200 years, providing an economic boon for the region. However, the same away of life that put the Eastern Shore on the map and great food like Maryland blue crabs and oysters on plates across America, is the very same that has contributed to the declining health of the Chesapeake Bay. Preservation efforst in the last three decades have worked to return the bay and the blue crab and oyster populations back to their pre-Industrial Revolution numbers. Research and education have become paramount to the survival of the bay and it’s tributaries.

According to a 2011 study published in the Marine Ecology Progress Series, oyster populations in the Bay are at 0.3 percent of the historical values of 200 years ago due to habitat loss, disease and over-harvesting. However,

24

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

▴ Hooper’s Island, Maryland, 1996 by combining the two historically significant industries of commercial fishing and farming, aquaculture has been gaining traction as a solution to maintaining the economic viability of the Chesapeake. “Aquaculture is critical to the environment and to the cultures that were grown around these oysters,” said Johnny Shockley, waterman and co-founder of Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture, a company designed to create a new approach to the commercial oyster industry. “It’s essential that we work to re-establish oysters for ecological and economic reasons,” Shockley said.

Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture provides infrastructure to the new watermen’s industry through the development of systems to grow and harvest oysters using science and the traditional watermen’s background, Shockley said.

Indeed, the company is a family affair, with three generations of Shockley’s relations working together to maintain their longstanding relationship with the Bay. Shockley, who is co-founder of the enterprise, employs his father, a traditional waterman, as the harvesting boat captain, which still produces wild harvest oysters under the brand name White Wood Cove. Shockley’s son, a recent graduate of Salisbury University who also studied at Horn Watermen Culture

25

Point Laboratory in Cambridge, is the company’s on-staff marine biologist, connecting traditional knowledge with new science to create a prototype for moving into the future. Aquaculture is not a new idea — growing seafood for human consumption is much like any other food-based production and has been occurring not only with shellfish, but other species in Maryland and throughout the world. However, new developments for disease resistance in oysters, along with state and local programs and regulations, are making it easier for watermen and potential aquafarmers to get a piece of the Bay. According to the Department of Natural Resources aquaculture division, a 2010 study found 71 aquaculturists in Maryland alone. The first legislation regulating the process was passed in 1988, and since then, aquaculture companies, and regulatory initiatives, have only increased.

From Maine to Florida, waterfront communities that have traditionally managed commercial fisheries are getting on board with aquaculture, understanding the connections of commercial fish and shellfish farming to the health of their surrounding waters and overharvesting. Aquaculture companies have sprung up across America, said Shockley, in the Puget Sound, on the Gulf Coast of Texas, and in the chilly Alaskan waters of the Pacific.

“We have to take a different tack on how to fix it,” says Shockley. The past 200 years of focusing on economics over sustainability have led Maryland and other commercial fishing states into some seriously troubled waters, Shockley said, but economics can also help those states navigate their way out.

“Sustainable use of resources like oysters make us money by putting them back into the ecosystem,” Shockley said. “We’re reversing the evolution using the same source with a different method. This is the solution that we can celebrate history, culture and natural resource in a positive way.”

While some contention remains surrounding aquaculture, localities are considering best options for leasing lands, choosing aquaculture farm locations, and regulating water use so as not to impede public fishing, and Shockley believes that it is possible to continue with both endeavors. “We can continue public fisheries, and create new regulations and management tools for commercial fishing to parallel with aquaculture,” he said. “We can do both, but we must do it responsibly.”

Shockley’s facilities are located in an abandoned fish house, with simple renovations for growing oysters. In a small, open room, 3 million oyster larvae, or spat, are seeded into small buckets with microculch — oyster shells broken down into sand-sized particles of about 300 microns. The spat swim in the buckets for about 12 to 24 hours until settling onto a piece of the microculch and beginning growth of a shell. There is a survival rate of about 15 to 20 percent, Shockley said, and these surviving oysters are fed through algae grown in a contained system at the facilities. For this downwelling system, the oysters are moved into a larger area using upwelling of water and 26

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

▴ Tangier Mayor and waterman James Eskridge fishing up soft crabs algae to feed the organisms until they reach about a half-inch in size. At that point, the oysters are moved directly into the Bay on the five acres of water leased by Shockley through the state. Anyone can lease acreage from the Bay through DNR — an agreement which lasts 20 years and can be renewed for another 20 (application instructions for leasing Bay waters can be found at www.dnr.maryland.gov. Hooper’s Island Aquaculture maintains two sets of cages , one set employing half-inch diameter wire for the first phase of Bay growth and a second, where the oysters will be moved at one-inch diameter wire to hold the oysters until they reach market size at three inches. These

Anyone can lease water acreage on the bay thru DNR. Oyster farm anyone?

Watermen Culture

27

28

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

29

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

d St. Mary’s City, Marylan g crab pots near the ◂ Preceding page : Checkin Chesapeake Bay Bridge

▴ Above: Catching bait fish in

30

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

cages hold about 10,000 oysters each. The unique advantage to oyster aquaculture, Shockley said, is the ability for aquafarmers to be in the market at any stage. A person does not have to lease Bay waters to be in the aquaculture industry, and a person does not have to have on-land facilities. Oysters can be harvested for the seed market and sold before they reach an inch in size, and can be bought at a larger size to deposit directly into Bay cages, making it an economically viable venture each step of the way.

Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture, which maintains the process from seed to market, has developed brands for its oysters — Chesapeake Gold and Holy Grail — and these shellfish go through a post-harvest system to maintain their consistency.

According to Shockley, one of the challenges to growing oysters in the Chesapeake Bay is the fluctuations in salinity. Because the Bay is fed by freshwater sources intermingling with the salty Atlantic ocean waters, salinity is bound to be unpredictable. Thus, the post-harvest system can add salt to the oysters regardless of the seasonal conditions of the water, finishing market oysters at 24 to 28 parts per thousand salinity to achieve the desired taste for consumers.

The complete system takes a total of about 18 to 24 months for oysters to reach their marketable size, Shockley said, and maintains an “all natural, all positive footprint on the environment.”

Hooper’s Island Aquaculture and Shockley have been nationally recognized and endorsed throughout the state by the Maryland Senate, Dorchester County, National Fisherman magazine, the Waterman’s Gazette and the Maryland Watermen’s Association.

Shockley also participates in education, partnering with local conservation groups like Phillips Wharf Environmental Center and local schools to demonstrate how the process works, how to create jobs, and how to develop economics for the Eastern Shore.

“We need to start educating the youngsters about the importance of the Chesapeake, and host programs to educate the public of the good that these new oysters can do for the entire industry,” Shockley said.

“This is for your kids. If you want your kids to carry on a heritage and make a viable living, this is the way to go,” said Shockley. “Together as an industry, we’re going to develop and continue to grow into the future, as long as the Chesapeake continues to flow.”

The complete system takes a total of about 18 to 24 months for the oysters to reach their marketable size Watermen Culture

31

CH

32

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

AP

TER

5

Little Guys Need Love Too Preserving the Bay

33

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Home to more than and 3,600 species of the Chesapeake Bay vast, rich, and And the issues polluted runof are equally co 34

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

18 million people plants and animals, watershed is a complex system. it faces, from f to dead zones, mplex.

35

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

5

LITTLE GUYS NEED LOVE TOO

Preserving the Bay

Also known as “beautiful swimmer,” the blue crab is one of the more resilient of Chesapeake species, but its fate depends on many factors. With the drastic decline of the Bayzs oysters in the 1980s, watermen began extending their crabbing efforts much later into the fall, the time they would normally have shifted to oystering. A decade or so later, the crab population had been cut in half to around 300 million. Not only was the blue crab itself depleted, so too were the oyster reefs and underwater grasses that provide it with food, shelter, and oxygen.

New science-based guidelines were established in 2008, requiring the reduction of the catch of female crabs to a sustainable level. Within two years, the population had doubled and watermen and scientists were hopeful the population was coming back from the brink. But in 2013, survey numbers dropped back to 300 million. In 2011, a recommended target of 215 million spawning age female crabs and a threshold of 70 million were adopted by Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission. The 2017 winter dredge survey found the abundance of these females surpassed the recommended target, but both the numbers of juvenile crabs and males declined. This most recent survey placed the total number of crabs at 455 million. Find out more about the state of today’s blue crab fishery.

The Bay’s blue crab population has always been prone to fluctuation, but it is clear it would be strengthened by improved water quality and crab habitat.

Reducing the levels of nutrients reaching the Bay from farms and lawns and better managing stormwater runoff before it gets into rivers and streams, will help mitigate weather extremes, improve water quality, and contribute to the recovery of both blue crabs and Bay grasses.

“The crab population is truncated, meaning we catch crabs so quickly, there are very few crabs bigger than legal size,” Goldsborough said. “As a result, the fishery is very dependent on each year class that comes in. And that creates instability, which is not a good thing for the crabs or the crabbers.

We want more older crabs in the crab population so that we have ongoing high reproductive potential, which helps stabilize the population, and larger crabs on average in the catch — which are the most valuable in the market.”

Essential for building stability in the crab population is for Maryland and Virginia to continue applying the science-based guidelines for managing the fishery adopted in 2008, which help avoid the overfishing of previous years.

36

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

▴ A jimmy hangin

waiting for his

g out sook

“The blue crab was really affected most by overexploitation by fishing,” said Dr. Thomas Miller, Director of the Chesapeake Biological Lab. “A decade ago, they were experiencing 70 percent removal rates. And you can’t take 70 percent of the trees and still have a forest. And if you take 70 percent of the crabs, you no longer have a healthy crab stock.” It is clear the Bay’s blue crab population would be strengthened by improved water quality and crab habitat. Reducing the levels of nutrients reaching the Bay from farms and lawns and better managing stormwater runoff before it gets into rivers and streams, will help mitigate weather extremes, improve water quality, and contribute to the recovery of both blue crabs and Bay grasses.

Preserving the Bay

37

Another strategy to improve the long-term stability and health of the Chesapeake’s crab populations is to cut significantly the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution into the Bay. Nitrogen and phosphorus stimulate explosive growth of algae. Algal blooms darken the water, blocking light and killing underwater grasses that crabs need for shelter. Algal blooms fed by polluted runoff quickly die and decay, sucking up oxygen and creating “dead zones.” The dead zones force crabs to find oxygen in shallow waters where they are more easily caught. “Dead zones” also kill the food that crabs eat, destroying or preventing the growth of 75,000 metric 38

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

▴ Miss Crabby qu tons of clams and worms a year in the estuary, according to a scientific study in the journal Science. That is enough food to support half the commercial crab harvest. In an effort to shrink the Bay’s “dead zones,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued pollution targets for the Chesapeake Bay in December 2010, resulting in the cooperative efforts of federal and state agencies in what is called the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. At the center of this effort are blue crabs and the more than 6,000 watermen and other workers, and their families, who depend on the crabs for their livelihoods.

ietly

contemplating life’s greatest q uest ions

Preserving the Bay

39

40

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

CHAPTER

6

41

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

He Likes the Mustard Interview With Jim Bob

6

HE LIKES THE MUSTARD

Interviews With Jim Bob

It was Memorial Day weekend, 2010, and my family got together with my brothers’, in-laws’ and cousin Jim Bobs’ family, 34 in all, for two days of fun.

Responsibilities for Friday night’s dinner fell to me, with steamed crabs at the heart of the menu. They are Jim Bob’s favorite.

Amateurs might pick up crabs from a truck, but Real Entertainers go the extra mile. So as a tribute to the blue crab, which is arguably Maryland’s preeminent, if not only, regional food, I planned to make crab hush puppies for an appetizer and serve jumbo lump crab cakes alongside the steamed crabs.

Having the crabs cooked professionally can be a good thing. It’s not that steaming them at home is particularly difficult. You put some cooking liquid (combinations of beer, vinegar, water, wine, etc.) in a big pot, layer crabs and seasoning mix, and cook, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. The problem is, things get trickier if you need a lot of crabs. Even if you have a pot enormous enough and a heat source capable of handling it, you wind up with uneven cooking.

The crabs near the bottom can get overcooked while the ones at the top aren’t cooked enough. Save yourself the trouble and go to a vendor who has the proper facilities to do the job.

From a host’s perspective, the most appealing part of the crab feast-themed party is the practice of papering the table: The usual dinner party niceties of flowers and such are not required. Beer can be swigged straight from the bottle, and rolls of paper towels can take the place of cloth napkins.

▴ Crab mustard.

rt Part delicacy, pa intestinal tract.

As guests started to hammer away at the steamed crabs, I popped into the kitchen to melt butter for dipping, saute crab cakes and retrieve the corn on the cob from a big pot on the stove. Then I sat down to enjoy my family.

I marveled at my uncle’s fierce determination and focus as he made his way through six or seven extra-large crabs, leaving only a small pile of cleanly picked shells in front of him.

1 DO YOU EAT BLUE CRABS? Yes, I live in Maryland, don’t I? Tried them once, Too much work

10

20

30

40

50

People Surveyed 42

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

60

70

80

2 HOW DO YOU COOK BLUE CRABS? Steamed in a crab pot Buy them steamed.

Maryland born but lazy at heart Fried

Cook them myself? Ew!

I eat them rawn straight from the Bay like the caveman I am

10

20

30

40

50

People Surveyed

3 DO YOU STEAM CRABS WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN WATER AND SPICES? Yes, with beer also Yes, with beer and vinegar like a good St. Mary’s County girl Yes, with mayoas the author gags typing this

10

20

30

40

50

People Surveyed

43

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

60

70

80

4 DO YOU EAT THE CLAWS AND LEGS? Yes, the big ones

Yes, every last little one No

No. I feed them to the cat. They’re like crack to him

10

20

30

40

People Surveyed

5 DO YOU EAT SOFT SHELL CRABS? Yes, on a sandwich

No. Just No. Only with a gun to my head

10

20

30

40

50

60

People Surveyed

6 DO YOU EAT THE MUSTARD? Heck no!

Heck yeah!

I just threw up in my mouth

10

20

30

40

50

People Surveyed 44

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

60

70

80

“He picks through them like a surgeon,” my husband said. “Doesn’t leave a speck of meat.” Although my husband admired the effort, it wasn’t for him.

My husband’s comments got me thinking. For years, we had made fun of Jim Bob for eating “the mustard.” It was kind of a family joke. As an author in the process of writing a book about crabs, I decided to survey 100 people.

I asked everyone at the house that night how they cooked their crabs and more importantly, how they ate their crabs. Some of their responses were downright hysterical so it would be a crime of me not to share them with you.

The first, most obvious question I asked was “Do you eat blue crabs?” (Figure 1) which resulted in a lot of responses that I can’t publish in a book that children may read. Eating blue crabs practically starts at birth around here.

Based on the responses, you can see that majority crab-eaters rule.

The second question I asked was, “How do you cook blue crabs?”, (Figure 2) which varies based on where your’re from and your family’s traditions. I had initially assumed that most people just steamed them but boy was I wrong.

I included some of the more colorful responses just for fun.

“Do you steam crabs with anything other than spices?” (Figure 3) was my third question and I anticipated more varied responses, but generally, it looks like most people use beer and/or vinegar in their steamer pot. One person responded that they add “mayo” in their steam pot, which I’ve never heard of and makes me gag a little. This may have been a response just to gross me out, as I can’t possibly imagine any true Marylander adding mayonnaise to crabs in any fashion. Eww!

▴ Soft crab sandwich.

For Marylanders an d sadists only.

Let’s talk about claws. Most people that I know eat the claws. The big ones.

Some eat the smaller legs, but only when they’re really hungry. Grandma would sit for hours and pick through every last little crevice in every leg for each little chunk of crab meat, which was probably a hangover from living through the Great Depression. In my survey (Figure 4), results on eating claws and legs were divided, with one person responding that they feed the claws to their cat. I’m betting it is the same person that cooks their crabs with mayo. This is a really scientific process of data collection as you can see.

One person responded that they “fed their blue crab claws to their cat.”

Soft crabs are more polarizing than gun rights and climate change combined.

They’re a love em’ or hate em’ kind of thing. Personally, I love me some soft crab sandwichs. Apparently, so do most of the crab connoisseurs that I surveyed (Figure 5). Of course, except for the mayo guy/gal.

This brings us back to Jim Bob. The topic of eating the crab mustard, otherwise known by some as “the guts.” Contrary to popular belief, the “mustard” is not fat or guts per se, rather it’s the crab’s hepatopancreas, the organ responsible for filtering impurities from the crab’s blood. Ok, so maybe that is it’s guts.

As far as eating the mustard, I’m a huge fan, and the lively conversation at our dinner table revealed that Jim Bob likes the mustard as much as I do. The rest of the family, notsomuch. The next time you eat blue crabs, take a survey at the table of who eats the mustard and you will surely laugh, as I did (figure 6).

Mayo guy isn’t a fan of the mustard.

Interview With Jim Bob

45

46

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

50 Shades of Crab Recipes!

PT CHA

47

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

ER

7

There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may fifty ways a them are g

48

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

be prepared in and that all of good. —H. L. Mencken

49

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

50

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

For steamed crabs, that beach-town summer standby, the Chesapeake catechism teaches plenty: buy more crabs than you think you need, use more spice, a larger pot. Get wooden mallets. Prepare to eat for a while.

STEAMED BLUE CRABS Steamed crabs. Hands down, the best way to eat them.

—Said everyone, ever

One 12-ounce bottle lager-style beer 1 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup Old Bay 1 dozen live blue crabs, preferably males (“Jimmies”) 1 Tbsp kosher salt

Step 1 Set up a steamer for the crabs. The steamer insert should sit 2 two to three inches above the bottom of the pot so that the crabs do not touch the liquid beneath.

Step 2 Add 1–½ cups water, lager, vinegar and two tablespoons seafood seasoning to the bottom of the pot. Whisk to combine and bring to a simmer.

Step 3 Layer all the crabs in the steamer insert, generously sprinkling the salt and remaining seafood seasoning on each layer of crabs.

Step 4 Cover the pot and steam the crabs for 30 minutes. The cooked crabs should be a bright orange color throughout with no trace of blue or green throughout.

Recipes!

51

BLOODY MARY WITH CRAB A meal in every glass.

Step 1 Wet the rim of two (16–20 oz) glasses with a piece of lemon. Then carefully dip both of the glass rims into a tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning (shake it onto a flat dish). The rim seasoning can be omitted per your taste preferences (as shown in the photo to the right).

16 oz tomato juice 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 Tbsp lime juice ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce a few shakes of Tabasco ½ Tbsp prepared horseradish (not horseradish sauce) 2 tsp of pickle juice 1 tsp olive juice 1 tsp pepperoncini juice a few shakes black pepper ½ tsp of Old Bay seasoning

Step 2 Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Fill glasses halfway with ice.

Step 3 Mix the ingredients together in a separate pitcher or container, stir it up well, and then pour the mixture into your cocktail shaker, one batch at a time. Give it a good shaking to get it nice and cold, then pour the contents into your prepared glass.

Step 4 Slide in a pickle spear or stalk of celery, a few Old Bay spiced shrimp, a couple of big fat olives, and you are good to go. You can also add a lemon and or a lime slice, and if you’re really feeling crazy, a whole pepperoncini…

4-6 ounces of good vodka Garnish ideas: Pickle spear, celery stalk, green olives (plain or stuffed with blue cheese), shrimp, pepperoncini, lemon slice or a lime slice

These Bloody Marys are bursting with flavor and spices, thanks to a big horseradish kick and a few splashes of Tabasco, but you can easily customize them.

52

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Recipes!

53

54

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Quintessential Maryland crab cakes featuring fresh lump meat seasoned with Old Bay.

CRABCAKES I’ve never met a crabcake I didn’t like.

—Grandma

½ cup mayonnaise 1 large egg, beaten 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ½ tsp hot sauce 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat 3 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning 20 saltine crackers, crushed ¼ cup canola oil lemon wedges, for garnish

Step 1 In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce until smooth.

Step 2 In a medium bowl, lightly toss the crabmeat with the cracker crumbs. Gently fold in the mayonnaise mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 3 Scoop all the crab mixture into eight 1/3–cup mounds; lightly pack into 8 patties, about 1 1/2 inches thick. In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the crab cakes and cook over moderately high heat until deeply golden and heated through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer all of the crab cakes to plates and serve with lemon.

The crab cakes can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight up to one day ahead.

Recipes!

55

56

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

This Eggs Benedict recipe by Pippa Middleton is the most perfect way to start the day! Pippa says of one of her favourite breakfast dishes, “Not only is this dish a flavor-filled way to start the day, it’s quick to put together and full of nutrition.”

CRABBY EGGS BENEDICT Pippa’s way to start the day.

Be like Pippa.

4 large eggs 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped 2 Tbsp heavy cream 1–2 tsp wholegrain mustard 2 wholemeal muffins, split and toasted 4 slices of smoked salmon

Step 1 Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Crack an egg into a cup, then gently tip into the boiling water. Repeat for the remaining eggs, then remove from the heat and set aside for five minutes until they’re softly set.

Step 2 Rinse the spinach and, with some of the water still clinging to the leaves, place in a large saucepan.

Step 3 Cover with a lid and cook gently for two minutes until wilted.

Tip into a colander and press to remove any excess liquid, then tip into a bowl and mix in the heavy cream and mustard. Spoon the mixture onto the toasted muffins, then top each with smoked salmon.

Step 4 Gently lift the eggs out of the hot water with a slotted spoon and place on top of the smoked salmon slices. Sprinkle over the chives, with a good grinding of black pepper, then serve swiftly with the mustard cream sauce spooned over the top.

Recipes!

57

CRAB MELTS

Crab. Melted. Melted crab.

Step 1 Line two or three large baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.

Parchment is optimum if you have it. Set baking sheets aside for later use.

18-20 slices sourdough baguette bread 3/4 cup mayonnaise 3/4 tsp fresh lemon zest 3 1/2 Tbsp fresh dill chopped and divided 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 12 oz lump crabmeat drained 2 Tbsp red onion finely chopped 1/4 tsp salt 18-20 Roma tomato slices 1 cup Gruyere cheese shredded salt and freshly ground black peppercoriander leaves to serve, if you like

Step 2 Preheat broiler. Arrange slices of sourdough on prepared sheet and broil 1–2 minutes on each side until lightly browned.

Step 3 In a small bowl, whisk mayo, lemon zest, three Tbsp dill and Old Bay seasoning.

Step 4 In medium bowl, mix together crabmeat, red onion and salt. Add two Tbsp of the mayo mixture to the crabmeat mixture until texture is well combined throughout.

Step 5 Spread the remainder of the mayo mixture onto the toasts and top each slice with the crabmeat mixture.

Step 6 Top each toast with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with fresh cheese.

Step 7 Broil for three minutes or till cheese melts. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper and the remaining dill.

These Crab Melts are a magnificent appetizer for your summer parties!

Fresh crab and juicy tomatoes atop sourdough toasts with a sprinkle of fresh dill and Gruyère.

58

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Recipes!

59

60

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Pan fried and served up with crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes and crunchy lettuce this Soft Shell Crab BLT is a summertime must!

SOFT SHELL CRAB BLT A love them or hate them kinda’ thing.

4 slices thick cut bacon 2 soft shell crabs, cleaned 1 large egg ⅓ cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs ⅓ cup yellow cornmeal 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper Salt and pepper Vegetable oil 2 sandwich size English muffins or ciabatta bread 1 plum tomato, sliced Lettuce Optional sliced avocado Sauce: 3 Tbsp mayonnaise 1 Tbsp sour cream 1-½ tsps lemon juice

Step 1 Cook bacon until crisp, remove and drain excess grease on paper towels. Save remaining bacon fat.

Step 2 Season the flour with a bit of salt and pepper; whisk the egg and a bit of water to form a egg wash; and mix the panko, cornmeal and cayenne pepper together.

Step 3 Take each of the soft shell crabs one at a time, and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess, dip in the egg wash and then in the breadcrumbs. Then repeat with the same crab in the egg and bread crumbs for a double coating. Repeat with remaining crab.

Step 4 On medium heat, pour enough bacon fat into the sizzling hot pan equaling four tablespoons, if necessary add some vegetable oil.

Step 5 Fry the crabs about four or five minutes per side until cooked through and golden brown. Flip and and continue to cook another two to three minutes, add more vegetable oil if the pan looks a little dry.

Step 6 To make the sauce, in a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Step 7 Toast the English muffins, amply slather some of the sauce on the bottom muffin portion, lay a piece of lettuce down, then a few slices of tomatoes and avocado if using. Add your crab and your bacon, breaking it in half to fit the size of the bread. Add a little more sauce to the top and cover and enjoy!

Recipes!

61

62

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside — these croquetas can be enjoyed tapas style, or as a decadent start to a dinner party.

CRAB CROQUETAS Croquetas for Rebecca in Tribeca.

1 stick unsalted butter 1 large shallot, finely chopped ½ cup flour, plus extra to dust ¼ tsp mustard powder Large pinch cayenne pepper Large pinch freshly grated nutmeg 1 quart fresh fish stock 2 cups milk 2 lbs lump crab meat 2 Tbsp dried dill 2 large eggs, beaten 4 cups dried breadcrumbs vegetable oil for frying

Step 1 Heat the butter and add the shallots. Cook over a medium to low heat for 6–7 minutes until soft. Add a pinch of flour, the mustard powder, cayenne and nutmeg, then cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes. Add the stock, stirring all the time, so the mixture thickens and bubbles.

Once the stock is added continue to add the milk in the same way and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is thick. Stir in the crab meat and all the herbs. Cover and leave to chill in the fridge for at least three hours minimum.

Step 2 Assembling the croquetas: Put the remaining flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into separate bowls. Roll up ping-pong size balls in your hands. Drop into the flour to coat, then into the eggs, removing excess then dip into breadcrumbs. Put the breadcrumb-coated croquetas on a baking sheet, then chill in the fridge for one hour.

Step 3 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the croquetas in batches for 4–5 minutes until deep golden.

Recipes!

63

SPICY CRAB IN WONTON CUPS Fancy little edible origami.

Step 1 Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready two 12–cup miniature muffin tins.

Step 2 Taking one wonton at a time, lightly brush the top of each wonton wrapper with sesame oil and press it, oiled side down, into a mini muffin cup. Repeat with all of the remaining 20 wonton wrappers, each cut wrappers, being careful not to use all into 3-inch squares the oil. Brush the bottom of each mini wonton cup with a little bit of the oil.

3 Tbsps sesame oil Bake until wontons are golden brown, 8 oz crabmeat about 10 minutes. Let cool completely ¼ cup mayonnaise in the tins, then remove carefully.

1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro 1 tsp snipped fresh chives ¼ tsp fresh grated lemon zest

Note: You can store the wonton cups in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to two days.

¼ tsp sambal oelek

Step 3 Place the crabmeat in a small bowl. Gently stir in the mayo, chopped 20 fresh cilantro leaves cilantro, sambal oelek, zested lemon and chives. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a bit more sambal oelek, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until ready to fill the wonton cups. (The crab filling can be made up to one day ahead.)

Step 4 To assemble, place the wonton cups on a serving platter and spoon about two teaspoons crab filling into each cup. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve immediately.

Spicy, wittle, mini, baby wonton cups that will be a hit at any party!

64

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Recipes!

65

66

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Cold, fresh, and delicious, this dish requires zero cooking and even cooler — it comes in its very own bowl. The perfect meal for summer, it’s light and refreshing, and comes together in a flash!

CRABACADO LEMON BOWLS Crabacado bravado.

2 Tbsp plain organic Greek yogurt 2 Tbsp natural mayonnaise 1 Tbsp lemon juice plus extra for the avocados Pinch sea salt

Step 1 In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, one tbsp lemon juice, salt, and herb of choice until well combined. Gently stir in green onions and crabmeat until evenly coated.

12 oz lump crabmeat

Step 2 Sprinkle extra lemon juice on avocado halves, and lightly coat using your fingers. (Lemon juice will slow the browning of the avocado flesh and keep it looking fresher longer.)

2 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and halved

Step 3 Mound crab salad evenly onto avocado halves to serve.

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, tarragon or cilantro, optional 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Recipes!

67

68

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

A quick and easy crab noodle recipe with sweet and sour Asian flavors.

CHILI CRAB NOODLES Easy peezy lemon squeezy.

12 oz flat rice noodles 2 large onions, sliced 4 garlic cloves, sliced 2 chillies, sliced 2 tsp of sunflower oil 3-½ Tbsp ketchup 2-½ Tbsp soy sauce 2-½ Tbsp fish sauce 1 lb lump crabmeat Juice of 1-2 limes Sliced spring onions

Step 1 Cook the noodles, then drain and run under warm tap water to rinse off the starch. Set aside. Heat a large wok or frying pan and fry the onions with the oil over a high heat, tossing, until slightly browned and soft. Toss the garlic and chillies into the oil, then fry, turning, for two minutes.

Step 2 Combine ketchup, soy sauce and fish sauce in a bowl. After onions and garlic turn golden, add the sauce mixture to the pan and let it bubble for a minute. Toss the noodles in with the crabmeat. Stir in the fresh lime juice, then serve with the spring onions and cilantro leaves.

Recipes!

69

70

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

SIMPLE CRAB CROSTINI WITH LEMON HERB SALSA I’m hungry just typing this.

Step 1 In a medium sized bowl, gently fold together the crab, dijon, mayo, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 3o minutes.

1 lb lump crab meat 1 Tbsp dijon mustard 1 Tbsp real mayonnaise ½ tsp Tabasco or Sriracha 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ½ tsp kosher salt ½ tsp fresh black pepper 2 tsps fresh lemon juice ½ large fresh lemon, peel included, minced 1 tsp minced shallot 1 tsp olive oil 1 tsp fresh chopped parsley 8-10 large slices of sourdough bread

Step 2 In another small bowl, whisk the minced lemon, shallot, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside at room temp to allow the flavors to come together.

Set aside for a minimum of two hours or the flavors will not fully meld.

Step 3 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Divide the crab meat mixture amongst the slices of bread and bake for 12–15 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the crabmeat in heated through.

Step 4 Increase the oven heat to broil and broil the crostini until the crab is slightly golden on top. Remove from the oven and serve with lemon herb salsa on the side.

pinch of salt and pepper

I love me some crabby cakes and I love me some crostini.

This is a light and delicious compromise of the two.

Recipes!

71

CRAB CEVICHE

Sweet, spicy and crabby. Mmm!

Step 1 Pick through the crab meat to make sure there is no shell then place the crab in a large bowl. Add the mango, jalapeño, shallot, tomato, cilantro, the juice of one lime, salt and pepper to the crab meat. Gently toss. Chill and allow the flavors to marry for at least 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat three to four hours.

1 mango, diced 1 jalapeño, minced 1 shallot, minced 1 roma tomato, diced Juice of 2 large limes 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro 2 avocados Salt and black pepper to taste 8 corn tortillas Oil for frying

Step 2 Before serving fry the tortillas one at a time in about one inch of oil until crisp, or brush the tortillas with a little oil and bake them for about 8–10 minutes in a 400 degree oven till crisp.

You can also use store-bought tostada shells in a pinch.

Step 3 Mash up the two ripe avocados with the juice of one lime and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4 Spread a little of the avocado on the tostada shell and top with one or two spoonfuls of the crab ceviche.

You can serve this sweet and spicy crab ceviche on tortilla chips for a delicious Cinco De Mayo party.

72

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

73

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

74

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

POTTED CRAB

Impress your friends with this one.

Step 1 Mix the crabmeat, crème fraîche, horseradish, spring onions, half of the melted butter and the cayenne.

Step 2 Spoon into 1–cup ramekins, then pour over a thin layer of melted butter. Press a few pink peppercorns into the top of each.

1 lb jumbo lump crab meat 4 Tbsp crème fraîche 2 tsp hot creamed horseradish 2 spring onions, chopped ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper ½ cup butter, melted 1 tsp dried pink peppercorns

Step 3 Wrap the pots individually in parchment paper, then plastic wrap, then freeze for up to one month. (Or chill in the fridge for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.)

Step 4 Thaw in the fridge overnight until defrosted. Serve with lemon and toasted sourdough.

Lemon wedges, to serve Toasted sourdough bread

The delicate sweetness of Maryland blue crab is front and center in this easy-to-make appetizer.

Recipes!

75

76

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

A classic Maryland dish, fresh and flavorful, Old Bay Maryland crab soup is oh so good!

MARYLAND CRAB SOUP Team red broth.

1 can (28 oounces) whole tomatoes, cut into small pieces 3 cups water 2 cups beef broth 1 cup frozen lima beans 1 cup frozen baby carrots 1 cup frozen yellow sweet corn 1 chopped onion

Step 1 Place all ingredients, except crabmeat, in a 4–quart soup saucepan.

Step 2 Bring to a rolling boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer fourfive minutes.

Step 3 Stir in crabmeat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

1 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning 1 lb lump crabmeat

Recipes!

77

CRAB AND CORN CHOWDER

Makes me want to play cornhole.

Step 1 Add celery, carrot, parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns to vegetable stock, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1–½ hours. Strain the broth into a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced to six cups, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2 lb jumbo lump crab meat 1 qt vegetable stock 1 large stalk celery, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 sprig fresh parsley 1 bay leaf 5 black peppercorns ¼ lb. salt pork, diced 3 medium yellow onions, peeled and diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1-½ lb red potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes 4 cups fresh corn kernels

Step 2 Cook salt pork in a large pot over medium-low heat until crispy, or about 20 minutes. Remove, drain; set aside for garnish. Cook the onions and garlic in rendered fat until translucent, about 20 minutes.

Step 3 Add the crab, potatoes, corn and broth to onions, increase heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in half-and-half and a dash of cayenne and return to a simmer. Add the lobster meat and simmer (not boil) until it is heated through, 3–5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with the reserved diced salt pork. Yum!

3 cups half & half Cayenne pepper Salt and pepper

This creamy chowder is a family recipe, never before written down until now!

78

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

79

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

80

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

CRAB SOUP WITH PARSLEY CROUTONS One of the fancies in this book.

Step 1 Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, add the diced bread and stir fry over a low heat until toasted and golden. Sprinkle over the sea salt and chopped parsley and transfer to a serving dish.

4 small slices of rustic white bread cut in ½ inch cubes 1 Tbsp butter ¼ tsp sea salt 1 Tbsp fresh parsley 1 quart water 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat 1 bay leaf 1 small onion cut in half 1 celery stalk roughly diced 1 small carrot cut into chunks ½ tsp black pepper A few parsley stalks, a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf 2 shallots finely chopped 2 Tbsp plain flour 2 tsp tomato puree

Step 1 The Stock: Place the stock ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45–50 minutes.

Step 1 Soup: Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the shallots for 2–3 minutes until softened but not coloured. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute.

Step 1 Stir in all the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, brandy, sea salt and black pepper. Add the prepared stock and return to the heat.

Add the cooked crab meat and stir in the cream. Heat thoroughly until piping hot and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Pour soup into petite casseroles and top with parsley croutons.

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce A rich and intensely flavored soup with all the taste of the bay, made from jumbo lump blue crab meat, fish stock, shallots, brandy and heavy cream. Serve in individual petite casseroles accompanied by crunchy parsley croutons.

1 Tbsp brandy heavy cream

Recipes!

81

82

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

With this elegant, restaurant quality dish, you can turn an ordinary Tuesday night into a supper celebration.

CRAB STUFFED TILAPIA

Tuesday is the new Saturday.

1 small onion, finely chopped 1 celery rib, finely chopped ¼ cup plus 6 Tbsp butter, divided 2 lbs jumbo lump crab meat ⅓ cup dry bread crumbs ⅓ cup mayonnaise 1 egg, beaten 2 Tbsp diced pimientos, drained ¼ tsp seafood seasoning 4 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each) ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp paprika

Step 1 In a large skillet, saute onion and celery in ¼ cup butter until tender.

Remove from the heat; stir in the crab, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, pimientos and seafood seasoning. Spread ⅓ cup crab mixture over fillets. Roll up each from the pointy end; secure with one or two toothpicks.

Step 2 Place fish seam side down in a greased 9–in. square baking dish.

Melt remaining butter; drizzle over the fish. Sprinkle with salt and paprika.

Step 3 Bake, uncovered, at 350–400° for 25–30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Discard toothpicks.

Spoon juices over fish.

Recipes!

83

CRAB MAC & CHEESE

Cheesy crabbiness in one pan.

Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, cook the elbow macaroni according to package directions, being careful not to overcook. Drain well.

Step 2 In large bowl, combine tsp salt, flour, mustard, pepper, sour cream, eggs and evaporated milk. Whisk well until eggs are beaten and no lumps of flour appear. Set aside.

8 ounces elbow macaroni 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp, plus 1 tsp flour 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard ½ tsp ground black pepper ⅓ cup sour cream 2 large eggs 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk 8 oz sliced extra-sharp New York cheddar 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat

Step 3 Spray a 9x13 or 9x9 inch glass casserole with non-stick cooking oil.

When macaroni is cooked and drained, spread half on bottom of the casserole.

Layer half of the cheese on top of the macaroni. Layer half the crab over the cheese. Top with remaining macaroni and crab. Cube the remaining cheese slices and sprinkle over the top.

Step 4 Whisk egg mixture again and pour evenly over the entire casserole.

Bake in the center of the oven until all of the edges are set and center is still slightly jiggly, about 30 minutes. Top will be golden. Remove from oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

The base of this recipe is a rich and savory cheesy egg custard, which binds all the ingredients flawlessly and goes great with anything you want to add.

84

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

85

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

8

86

The End of the Book Index

06

CHAPTER 1

Love Me Some Crab

Nice to Meet You

10

CHAPTER 2

Callinectes sapidus

Introduction to Blue Crabs

14

CHAPTER 3

Ye’ Old Crabbers

20

CHAPTER 4

Life on the Bay

30

CHAPTER 5

Little Guys Need Love Too

38

CHAPTER 6

He Likes the Mustard

44

CHAPTER 7

50 Shades of Crab

84

8

The End of the Book

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

Index

History of Crabbing Watermen Culture Preservation and the Chesapeake Bay

Interviews With Jim Bob Recipes!

NOT THAT HUNGRY 50

Bloody Mary with Crab

48

Steamed Blue Crabs

56

Crab Melts

52

Crabcakes

60

Crab Croquetas

54

Crabby Eggs Benedict

62

Spicy Crab in Wonton Cups

58

Soft Shell Crab BLT

72

Potted Crab

64

Crabacado Lemon Bowls

68

Simple Crab Crostini with Lemon Herb Salsa

66

Chili Crab Noodles

70

Crab Ceviche

80

Crab Stuffed Tilapia

82

Crab Mac & Cheese

IN A SOUP MOOD

87

HUNGRY

74

Maryland Crab Soup

76

Crab and Corn Chowder

78

Crab Soup with Parsley Croutons

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them

BEAUTIFUL SWIMMERS and How to Eat Them A quirky read for both the Chesapeake Bay enthusiast as well as those who like to cook and eat Maryland blue crab. The recipe for the interior of this book contains one cup of maritime history, combined with a splash of watermen culture, a pinch of Chesapeake Bay preservation information and a wee bit o’ crabby data, mix throughly, then top it with bushel of recipes about crab and voilà !

90

Beautiful Swimmers and How to Eat Them