Very, Very, jealous plus by the hamper full!!:tsk:
Looks incredible!:hungry:
When you speak of "blue" are they molting (soft shell)?
"Dead man's fingers = gills??
How do I get a hamper full?? :biggrin1:
Thermal,
Blue crabs are a variety of crab that occur throughout the Gulf of Mexico and up the Atlantic Coast. They are particularly plentiful in the bayous of Louisiana. A hamper is about 6 dozen or so depending on their size.
Our friends on the East Coast (Maryland in particular) shower them with Old Bay seasoning and steam them over water, beer, or cider vinegar.
Here on the Gulf Coast, most folks boil them with potatoes, onions, and garlic in water heavily seasoned with salt, cayenne, "liquid boil" (essential oils of clove, allspice, and cayenne).
In Southwest Louisiana and parts of Texas, some folks boil them in plain water and the sprinkle seasoning on them in a cooler.
In college, I ran the boiling kitchen for a wholesale seafood market. During the season I used to boil 1500-2000 lbs of crawfish a day and countless hampers of crabs. People always think I'm nuts when I say this, but seafood (especially shellfish) should be cooked medium-rare to medium. It should be just barely cooked through.
I had never grilled them before, but I will be trying it again. As I said in the original post, I think I will put them in a pan to capture the drippings. Too much goodness got away this time.
David
The Swine Specator
