Blue Crab Feast

The day before yesterday Gil caught two catfish (that answers Mike’s question), but yesterday was even better!  (I’m blogging the following morning … sometimes we just have too much fun the night before). Anyway….

Gil & Jorge had each purchased crab nets when we were in Cape May harbor.  Their luck crabbing there was not L.  Captain Gil’s luck  changed yesterday morning at Worton Creek!

The result….

This we just had to share with Jorge & Kim! They were in Georgetown on the Sassafrass River, but were moving south to Swan Creek today. We hoped we could catch up to them, and enjoy these Chesapeake blue crabs together. We got underway as quick as we could. After getting beyond all the crab pots around Worton Creek (it takes two to navigate around them sometimes … “crabs must be like bunnies” as Rob, a fellow cruiser, said); I gave Kim a call. They were near our position, and we’d be arriving at Swan Creek about the same time. We’d be able to share this experience J ….    The catfish fillets went into the freezer, and enroute, I was busy googling “How to cook blue crabs,” and “How to peel and eat blue crabs.”

Thankfully, Kim had a big pot (bigger boat – more storage). We steamed them with a mix of 2 cups water, 2 cups beer, and 1 cup vinegar, and lots of Old Bay Seasoning.

Getting them in the pot and keeping them in the pot was entertainment in itself.  Blue crabs must be cooked live – not for the weak at heart. They’re feisty and they don’t let go, so those pincers demand a great deal of respect. They hang on to each other! You want to put them in the pot one at a time …. how hard could that be? I had a chain of four at one time (reminded me of  my ‘barrel of monkeys’ game when I was a kid).  The last crab backed himself into the pail in a very defensive position – claws up and pincers open. 

In the end, the blue crabs became orange crabs, and we savoured this true Chesapeake Bay delicacy.

Confession: Earlier in the day, we went into Worton Creek Marina to refuel, pump out, fill up with water, and refill one of our propane tanks. While at their dock, a crab boat pulled in. They had one half filled barrel, and were willing to part with a few of their fresh caught crabs. So, Jorge & Kim .... that's us coming clean! We're positive you had strong suspicions about whether we had caught all these crabs with our little crab net; but you were just too polite to come out and say: "You're full of shit!"

 fish weirs seen on the Chesapeake Bay en route to Swan Creek