Got Crabs?

It's an old Maryland joke.  Crab season started April 1, here, and as the water warms up, the crabbing will get going:

..."The water temperatures are about 48 degrees. So, once it gets up to 52-55, we'll see some more. We should be crabbing every day at that point," waterman Jesse Lowers said. "In the winter time, in the nets, when they're catching fish, there are a lot of baby 1 ½-inch crabs coming off of them like fleas. So, that's a good sign for what's to come this summer and fall."

"We expect another banner year. Winter surveys look good. So, the numbers are really high again. So, I expect high numbers again in crabs and good quality. So, I'm looking forward to it," waterman Chris Phelps said.

Brenda Davis, blue crab program manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said Friday all indications suggest this should be a good year for Maryland crabs."We have a large abundance and, as would be expected, the harvest increased with the abundance, which is a very good thing," Davis said. "We hope that we would have a similar harvest this year."...

Eating crabs is a quintessential Maryland experience.  The classic way is to steam them in beer and Old Bay, and pick them on a picnic table covered with brown wrapping paper with plenty of beer.  Only the experienced can actually gain calories that way (unless you resort to dipping the bits in melted butter), it takes a while to learn how to pick a crab successfully.  But it's worth learning.

A second way to eat crab, my favorite, is the soft shell sandwich.  Soft shells are crabs that have recently molted, and their new shell has not hardened.  There is a special fishery for crabs ready to molt which are held in tanks to shed.  Once shed, they can be removed from the water, but kept damp and they cannot get enough minerals to form the new shell.  They can be held for a few days and even shipped in that condition.  To prepare a soft shell for cooking, cut off the mouth parts, remove the gills, and flour and deep fat fry (or better yet, pan fry) the carcass.   Put between bread with your choice of condiments and maybe even a vegetable or two.  What with all the crispy legs hanging out (the best parts) at our house we call them fried ticks.  A good restaurant will give you two or more crabs in a sandwich.