The Art of Eating Crab: A Maryland Tradition

When it comes to eating crab, there's no better way than Maryland-style. It's a tradition that dates back decades and is still loved by many today. To start, you'll need fresh crabs, preferably jumbo lump or claw meat, which is the best part of any crab feast.

The Preparation Process

Once you have your crabs, it's time to get them ready for eating. This involves removing the shells, taking out the fins and claws, and then smashing them gently in your hands to remove the flesh from the shell. Some people use a knife to cut the crab in half, but this is a waste of time and just gets you more messy. Instead, simply crush the crab in your hands and reach in to grab it by the tail.

Now that your crabs are ready to eat, it's time to think about how to enjoy them. Traditionally, Marylanders like their crabs with butter, but some people prefer to keep things simple and eat them naked. Others like a little spice on their crab, which is where horseradish or vinegar come in.

The Crab Feast

So how do you traditionally eat a crab? The answer is by picking it apart piece by piece, using your fingers or a fork if needed. It's a fun and interactive way to enjoy the meal, and it's a great way to share with friends and family. If you're feeling fancy, you can try eating them on a stick, which is a popular activity at many seafood restaurants.

One of the best parts about eating crabs in Maryland is trying all the different ways that locals like to enjoy them. Some people love crab cakes, which are essentially crab patties made with jumbo lump meat and breadcrumbs. These are often served with a tangy sauce made from mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice.

In fact, one of the most popular crab cakes in Maryland is the "Jumbo Lump" style, which features nothing but fresh jumbo lump crab meat. This is what really sets them apart from other types of crab cakes, and it's what makes them so delicious. To make these, you'll need to whip up a mixture of mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, egg, baking powder, salt, and pepper, which will serve as the binder and flavor enhancer for your crab cakes.

The Result is a Crab Cake Like No Other

When you put it all together, the result is a crab cake that's full of flavor and texture. The jumbo lump meat provides a nice crunch and bite, while the breadcrumbs add a bit of heft to each patty. And with the right seasoning and sauce, these crab cakes are truly unforgettable.

Whether you're from Maryland or just visiting, eating crabs is an experience you won't want to miss. So next time you're at a seafood restaurant, be sure to give them a try - and don't forget to bring your appetite!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhen you're in Maryland and you're thinking traditional food well you're probably thinking crab especially the way they steam them and dump a pile of them on butcher paper and everybody Dives in so I'm 20 minutes south of Baltimore rolling in for what they call a crab Feast at a place called The Stony Creek in delicious perfectly seasoned Maryland crab will you guys eat all this probably and forget the social graces get your hands dirty is all part of the game you break them and self clean them right here yeah you have made a tremendous mess that's cuz I make sure I eat all mine look at that you lick that all cuz that's also delicious what's your favorite part all of it folks here are obsessed with it and that includes the owners you have a crab tattoo female blue crab they are going hot Bill Green and his wife Mary we have a table of seven coming in work the Open Air Market when they were kids watch your step eight years ago they opened this joint near Stony Creek off Chesapeake Bay serving everything crab p a jumbo lump crab meat a half crab toast a crab pretzel and a crab ball and in the Maryland tradition all right guys steamed by the basket with sweet corn and tossed on the table I love crabs yeah these are delicious who taught you how to steam crab my father and he's still doing in Dad's way we're going to put our seasonings together that we're going to season the crabs with salt kosher salt paprika dry mustard chili Blake little Cayenne there we go little time time so no Old Bay on this no no Old Bay on the steam crabs well everybody stop for a moment I don't know that I the world as I know it a little bit like a blocking spice fresh the steam is going to pick up these seasonings and flavors and go in through the crevices and joints of the Shelf plus it's going to be on there when you're picking them you can get it all over your fingers when you eat them okay now we go out so what are we going to do with them you want to layer them down in here you should get a crab belt buckle crab belt buckle or crab shoulder pads crab watch and the seasoning we made earlier you just go through that seasoning like crazy yeah get some fresh corn put it right on top of the crabs now we go to the stable throw itd on it 25 minutes check crab ready put him on the platter and then we go have what we call the crab Feast yep is that the way he does it every time yeah just fantastic they're very rich it's buttery it's sweet the salt compliments it really well the seasoning on the crab is pretty outstanding wow hang out long enough they'll feed you a crab on a stick oh that's good delicious any special methods of crab eating there's different ways to do it we teach our kids when they're young how to pick a crab my mother me this back in South Baltimore 40 years ago I take out all the claws and the fins first some people will use a knife you use it to cut the grab in half so you can get to this that's a waste of time just crush it in my hands to be all right I smash it reach in and grab it I feel like I'm in little Santa's Workshop I'm making crab for Suzie now do you guys know this game the break off peel off pick and dig now do you only eat them with butter that's how I was raised get horseradish vinegar this is vinegar now is this the way to do it absolutely I just like to eat mine plain I like them naked but a little bit of spice on it you like it with the vinegar that might just be it for me now how do they do the crab here they do a fried hard crab you peel the batter off and eat it seriously that's cream of crab yeah heavy on the crab they're even stuffing it in shrimp two for you one for me like the way you roll look how beautiful they look wo crab toast and however they're serving them Bill and Mary are proud to be carrying on the old Maryland Crab Shack tradition have a lot of great customers that keep coming back for the classic favorites they grew up with and for a lot of folks around here how was everything excellent that means crab cakes no claw meat it's just pure Lum crab meat we're going to make the sauce for our jumbo buum crab cakes nice heavy mayonnaise o o prepared mustard little lemon juice squishes here now we're going to whip it up till it incorporates a little bit now we're going to add the liquid egg this is the glue this is the binder a little baking powder that'll give you a little H mm it'll also thicken it up a little bit more now how many crab cakes will this make this will make about 25 wow is this is 5 lb 6 lb 6 lb jumbo was off on this hand cuz I've had it's a new arm P little bit of breading regular old white bread no CR wait wait wait wait wait that's it that's it you just want enough to hold it together just as a binder baby this is a crab cake not a bread cake that's a way I'm talking take a little bit of parsley Stir It up just a little bit so you're really eyeballing this sometimes you'll get 24 and 1/2 crab cak sometimes you'll get 25 just living on the edge so now we're just going to form them I'm pretty close within you know half an ounce most of the time really what size are we going for going for 6 oz and plate them and that's not going to fall apart in the oven 350 7 to 10 minutes keep your eye on it yep that's what I'm talking about your weapon sir I can't even begin to see any filler hold me M Super Fresh mhm I'm not getting over Citrus I'm not getting over mustard I'm not getting over oey tasting the crab everybody's working together to en enhance that jumbo lump wow the best part about it is the amount of crab meat it's got a lot of crab in it I get it all the time anything crab related is very good here I've been other places before and crabs it's nothing better really good it's perfect and your favorite part of doing this whole thing we've gotten a lot of good friend once you try and whether you're from Maryland or not you're hooked you're absolutely hooked this is how I like to eat crab hang out with a bunch of people say I never had any and let them do the picking wow I wonder what cold beer tastes likewhen you're in Maryland and you're thinking traditional food well you're probably thinking crab especially the way they steam them and dump a pile of them on butcher paper and everybody Dives in so I'm 20 minutes south of Baltimore rolling in for what they call a crab Feast at a place called The Stony Creek in delicious perfectly seasoned Maryland crab will you guys eat all this probably and forget the social graces get your hands dirty is all part of the game you break them and self clean them right here yeah you have made a tremendous mess that's cuz I make sure I eat all mine look at that you lick that all cuz that's also delicious what's your favorite part all of it folks here are obsessed with it and that includes the owners you have a crab tattoo female blue crab they are going hot Bill Green and his wife Mary we have a table of seven coming in work the Open Air Market when they were kids watch your step eight years ago they opened this joint near Stony Creek off Chesapeake Bay serving everything crab p a jumbo lump crab meat a half crab toast a crab pretzel and a crab ball and in the Maryland tradition all right guys steamed by the basket with sweet corn and tossed on the table I love crabs yeah these are delicious who taught you how to steam crab my father and he's still doing in Dad's way we're going to put our seasonings together that we're going to season the crabs with salt kosher salt paprika dry mustard chili Blake little Cayenne there we go little time time so no Old Bay on this no no Old Bay on the steam crabs well everybody stop for a moment I don't know that I the world as I know it a little bit like a blocking spice fresh the steam is going to pick up these seasonings and flavors and go in through the crevices and joints of the Shelf plus it's going to be on there when you're picking them you can get it all over your fingers when you eat them okay now we go out so what are we going to do with them you want to layer them down in here you should get a crab belt buckle crab belt buckle or crab shoulder pads crab watch and the seasoning we made earlier you just go through that seasoning like crazy yeah get some fresh corn put it right on top of the crabs now we go to the stable throw itd on it 25 minutes check crab ready put him on the platter and then we go have what we call the crab Feast yep is that the way he does it every time yeah just fantastic they're very rich it's buttery it's sweet the salt compliments it really well the seasoning on the crab is pretty outstanding wow hang out long enough they'll feed you a crab on a stick oh that's good delicious any special methods of crab eating there's different ways to do it we teach our kids when they're young how to pick a crab my mother me this back in South Baltimore 40 years ago I take out all the claws and the fins first some people will use a knife you use it to cut the grab in half so you can get to this that's a waste of time just crush it in my hands to be all right I smash it reach in and grab it I feel like I'm in little Santa's Workshop I'm making crab for Suzie now do you guys know this game the break off peel off pick and dig now do you only eat them with butter that's how I was raised get horseradish vinegar this is vinegar now is this the way to do it absolutely I just like to eat mine plain I like them naked but a little bit of spice on it you like it with the vinegar that might just be it for me now how do they do the crab here they do a fried hard crab you peel the batter off and eat it seriously that's cream of crab yeah heavy on the crab they're even stuffing it in shrimp two for you one for me like the way you roll look how beautiful they look wo crab toast and however they're serving them Bill and Mary are proud to be carrying on the old Maryland Crab Shack tradition have a lot of great customers that keep coming back for the classic favorites they grew up with and for a lot of folks around here how was everything excellent that means crab cakes no claw meat it's just pure Lum crab meat we're going to make the sauce for our jumbo buum crab cakes nice heavy mayonnaise o o prepared mustard little lemon juice squishes here now we're going to whip it up till it incorporates a little bit now we're going to add the liquid egg this is the glue this is the binder a little baking powder that'll give you a little H mm it'll also thicken it up a little bit more now how many crab cakes will this make this will make about 25 wow is this is 5 lb 6 lb 6 lb jumbo was off on this hand cuz I've had it's a new arm P little bit of breading regular old white bread no CR wait wait wait wait wait that's it that's it you just want enough to hold it together just as a binder baby this is a crab cake not a bread cake that's a way I'm talking take a little bit of parsley Stir It up just a little bit so you're really eyeballing this sometimes you'll get 24 and 1/2 crab cak sometimes you'll get 25 just living on the edge so now we're just going to form them I'm pretty close within you know half an ounce most of the time really what size are we going for going for 6 oz and plate them and that's not going to fall apart in the oven 350 7 to 10 minutes keep your eye on it yep that's what I'm talking about your weapon sir I can't even begin to see any filler hold me M Super Fresh mhm I'm not getting over Citrus I'm not getting over mustard I'm not getting over oey tasting the crab everybody's working together to en enhance that jumbo lump wow the best part about it is the amount of crab meat it's got a lot of crab in it I get it all the time anything crab related is very good here I've been other places before and crabs it's nothing better really good it's perfect and your favorite part of doing this whole thing we've gotten a lot of good friend once you try and whether you're from Maryland or not you're hooked you're absolutely hooked this is how I like to eat crab hang out with a bunch of people say I never had any and let them do the picking wow I wonder what cold beer tastes like\n"