Crab questions

[LJC]

I just got back from Miami where I ate Stone Crabs three days in a row, which is why I am starting this thread. I love crab.

Early this fall I was in Columbia and I had a type of crab that I had never had before. It was very large and looked like the inedible "spider" crabs we find in NY's Great South Bay except larger. The shell was very spiny and thick/hard but the meat especially the body meat was soooooo sweet. Does anyone know what type of crab this was?

I think that of all the crab subspecies the Stone Crab is my favorite followed by this ??? crab and then the Dungenous, Alaskan, Atlantic Blue and then Caribbean Blue.

Is anyone else out there crabby?

[Brad S]

Could it be the Tanner crab?

[budrichard]

Are you sure it was Stone Crab since they don't live in Maine but around Florida.

Other than that my favorite crab is one that was just pulled out of the ocean/estuary and cooked. Soft shells where the legs are still moving properly cleaned at the moment before cooking, coated with Wondra, salt and white pepper fried in butter are great.

Crab that has sat around or in tanks loses flavor. -Dick

[Brad S]

In his post he said he just returned from Miami where he had the Stonecrabs.

[jschyun]

Dungeness rocks, but stone crab claws are darn good. Snow crab might be good if i could get something better than the frozen variety. King crab, oh yeah.

[Hest88]

I love all crab. My sentimental favorite is the Dungeness--but that's probably because I'm in Northern California. Stir-fired with ginger and scallions the way my mom makes it---Mmmmmm! I had my first blue crab last year, but I can't really tell you if it was the crab or the Old Bay I really liked. There's also nothing quite like a good steamed Alaskan King Crab. We had some great crab feasts when we were in Vancouver last year and earlier this year. Wow! Sure a far cry from the inedible buffet table king crab legs I remember eating everytime my parents took us to Reno!

I've never had stone crab, though I'm really eager to try. I wonder if there's anywhere on the web that describes the difference in taste and texture between different popular crabs. (There must be...) There was an article about crab in last month's GQ, but they didn't talk about taste at all!

[wesza]

Samoan Crab in Honolulu

Coconut Crab in Fuji

Shanghai Freshwater Crab in Hong Kong

Kona Crab in Honolulu

Blue Crab in New York

Dungeness Crab in Seattle

Drunken Crab in Hong Kong

Land Crab in Christmas Island

Maylay Crab at Crab Restaurant in Panang

Live King Crab in Seattle

King Crab in Siberia

Pickled Crab in London

Rock Crab in Long Island

Red Crab in San Francisco

4 Varieties of Fat Crab's in Hong Kong

Only Crab that wasn't really special was Tanner Crab in Alaska

Irwin

[wesza]

Left out "Stone Crab" in Cuba.

Only counted Crabs that were served Whole.

Irwin

[hillvalley]

Blue crabs from the Chesapeak cooked in Old Bay.

Edited November 21, 2003 by hillvalley (log)

[=Mark]

Extra large Alaskan King Crab legs.

I have to admit that I've never had Dungeness crab and have always been curious about it.

I'm frankly too lazy to be interested in tackling blue claw crab. The results don't justify the work unless I've had a few beers, and then I'm not sure if it is really the flavor or the delight of wailing on crabs with blunt instruments while buzzed...

[beans]

I enjoy Stone Crabs from Florida.

But I *adore* dungies. I'll take those any day over King Crab. Flavour over volume/size.

[Brad S]

Extra large Alaskan King Crab legs.

I have to admit that I've never had Dungeness crab and have always been curious about it.

I'm frankly too lazy to be interested in tackling blue claw crab. The results don't justify the work unless I've had a few beers, and then I'm not sure if it is really the flavor or the delight of wailing on crabs with blunt instruments while buzzed...

The first time I had dungenees crabs was in 2000 in San Fran at fishermans warf.

My wife and I walked up and down the boardwalk buying little $4 cups with red sauce.Excellent and sweet.Firm with a touch of the ocean.

Mark,as far as blue crabs go,wait till there soft and fry them,tartare sauce,iceburg and a hard roll,basic but oh so good.

[=Mark]

Oh, soft shell crabs I love! Forgot to mention them... Love doing the "spider on a bun" thing, even when it guarantees a sploosh of spider guts onto the front of the tee shirt...

[Brad S]

I'm proud to say I have many Sploosh laden tee shirts (from crabs) Soft shells are blue's who got "undressed"

[docsconz]

softshells are my favorites. I just had some delicius little ones in Venice, Italy. They are called moleche. They are sort of like "popcorn" crabs.

My all time favorite comfort food is blue crabs cleaned and stuffed with herbed bread crumbs and parmigiano cheese, simmered for hours in tomato sauce and served with bucatini pasta. Messy but Yum!

[KarenS]

dungeness,

Australian

mud

crab,

soft

shell

crabs,

I

like

crab

much

better

than

lobster.

[misgabi]

Chilli Mud Crab cooked in a wok, over a fire, on the beach in Cairns

[Suzanne F]

Irwin, I used to like you a lot. Now I'm too jealous.

Brad: how come you can spell here?

My greatest crab experience was buying a couple of cooked Dungeness at Pike Place Market in Seattle to eat on the train down to San Francisco. The crabs, some raspberries, cucumbers, and HWOE: heaven.

And I didn't used to mind going to Florida in the winter when we could have stone crab claws. Is it true they only harvest the claws, and the crabs regenerate them? If so, does that mean that people who won't eat a living creature who died can eat stone crab claws?

[Brad S]

Brad: how come you can spell here?

Because I respectfully follow you

A sheep in Chefs clothing ?! or is that a Chef in sheeps clothing?damn........I need a crab

[dumpling]

Samoan Crab in Honolulu

Coconut Crab in Fuji

Shanghai Freshwater Crab in Hong Kong

Kona Crab in Honolulu

Blue Crab in New York

Dungeness Crab in Seattle

Drunken Crab in Hong Kong

Land Crab in Christmas Island

Maylay Crab at Crab Restaurant in Panang

Live King Crab in Seattle

King Crab in Siberia

Pickled Crab in London

Rock Crab in Long Island

Red Crab in San Francisco

4 Varieties of Fat Crab's in Hong Kong

Only Crab that wasn't really special was Tanner Crab in Alaska

Irwin

Irwin man, You ROCK! You are definitely crabby and have been everywhere.

Alaskan King Crab in my youth in Connecticut

Softshell crab Cayman Islands, Florida and all over

Blue Crab with Old Bay in Maryland, in Gumbo in New Orleans

Stone Crab from Joe's Stone Crab, Florida

Dungeness Crab brought back from Seattle about two weeks ago, eaten cold accompanied by drawn butter. Also in various other forms most notably ginger and scallion.

Dungeness Crab While all the crabs were great, Dungeness definitely rules.

Mark, man, we have to find you some Dungies. There used to be this amazing place in Englewood Cliffs that sold Dungeness in Ginger and Scallion sauce. I could eat the whole thing. That was a true delight. I would dream of it.

I can now make it but don't always have the opportunity to get good dungies.

The ones I had recently for my birthday had to be right up there with the best I ever ate(the ones from Seattle).

[wesza]

Irwin, I used to like you a lot. Now I'm too jealous.

Brad: how come you can spell here?

My greatest crab experience was buying a couple of cooked Dungeness at Pike Place Market in Seattle to eat on the train down to San Francisco. The crabs, some raspberries, cucumbers, and HWOE: heaven.

And I didn't used to mind going to Florida in the winter when we could have stone crab claws. Is it true they only harvest the claws, and the crabs regenerate them? If so, does that mean that people who won't eat a living creature who died can eat stone crab claws?

Suzanne: I'm the one who is jealous, since you've got lot's of new kinds of Crabs to enjoy, and i'm running out of types to eat, even though there are types i've eaten but don't remember the names from Australia and New Zeland.

My son-in-law saw the post and made up with my grand kids that next time I visit them they are going to prepare for gramdpa fresh:

Fiddler Crabs

Green Crabs

Spider Crabs

I've used them for Bait, now i'll be expected to eat them with Giggles.

Has anyone eaten any of these types of Crabs?

Irwin

[Susan in FL]

What a yummy subject. I grew up on Delmarva's blue crabs, soft shell and hard. I also love king crab, and discovered stone crab claws when I moved to Florida, especially Joe's Stone Crab. I have never eaten Dungeness! Are the ones you buy frozen any good? Those are the only I have seen.

[fifi]

Is it true they only harvest the claws, and the crabs regenerate them? If so, does that mean that people who won't eat a living creature who died can eat stone crab claws?

Yep. And you pose a very interesting question. That could tie your brain in knots.

Fish and game laws typically require removing a claw and putting the crab back. For some reason, stone crabs are becoming more common here on the Texas coast. I have quite a colony in Galveston bay just off my place. They used to be really pretty rare here. Don't know what's up with that.

[budrichard]

What a yummy subject. I grew up on Delmarva's blue crabs, soft shell and hard. I also love king crab, and discovered stone crab claws when I moved to Florida, especially Joe's Stone Crab. I have never eaten Dungeness! Are the ones you buy frozen any good? Those are the only I have seen.

THERE ARE NO GOOD FROZEN CRABS. King is commonly cooked and frozen but I will take a really fresh crab any day over frozen. -Dick

[Suzanne F]

Just remembered a line from a play I worked on, re crabs:

If they ain't kickin' they ain't cookin'

I'm with you, Dick: it's fresh and live, or I'll stay crabless.