Maryland Blue Crab Landings

Maryland Blue Crabs

For 2011, Maryland led the USA in blue crab landings, according to the latest economic report from NOAA Fisheries. The report, Fisheries Economics of the United States 2011, indicates that Maryland watermen harvested 50 million pounds of blue crabs worth more than $59 million in 2011. Overall, the U.S. seafood industry generated $129 billion in sales impacts in 2011.

source: NOAA Fisheries

Maryland Crab Soup

Maryland Crab Soup

One of Maryland's most iconic dishes is Maryland crab soup. This delicious soup is easy to prepare and suitable for a variety of occasions.

Although it can be made using high quality lump backfin, cooks often use crab claw meat for this dish. Crab soup can be made with fresh-picked or frozen crab meat. In either case, authentic Maryland crab soup should contain locally caught and processed Atlantic blue crab meat.

The quality of the soup is dependent upon its ingredients. Whenever possible, fresh locally sourced vegetables should be paired with Maryland blue crab meat. The variety of vegetables can vary with local availability. Frozen or canned vegetables can be substituted, although some loss of flavor may result.

Maryland crab soup can be simmered on the stove, or allowed to cook all day in a crock pot. Either method produces a hearty, well balanced soup that can be served as a light lunch, appetizer, or as the main component of a full dinner. This flavorful dish can also be served at holiday meals or other special occasions.

Maryland Crab Soup Recipe

Ingredients

8 oz. crab meat
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 large or 2 small carrots
2 medium potatoes
2 medium tomatoes (fresh) or 2 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 small onion
1/2 cup fresh white corn  (optional)
1/2 cup fresh lima beans  (optional)
1/4 cup celery (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (optional)
1 tablespoon Old Bay crab seasoning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
dash red pepper (optional)


Directions

Inspect crab meat closely and remove any shell fragments.
Peel and dice vegetables into small pieces.
Combine crab meat, vegetables, stock, and crab seasoning. Simmer 30 minutes on medium heat or cook 1/2 day or more if using a slow cooker.

Notes:

For a spicier soup, add additional crab seasoning. Red pepper may also be added to increase intensity.
If desired, cilantro or parsley can be added as a garnish when serving.

Related Information

Blue Crabs
Seafood Recipes

Maryland Crab Meat Wins Taste Test

Maryland’s blue crab was the winner in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) non-scientific, blind taste test. The event was held during the 2011 Maryland State Fair.



In the blind taste test, fair goers were asked to try four pieces of crab from across the globe: Indonesia, China, South America and Maryland. Without knowing which crab meat came from which country, fair goers chose which meat they liked the best.

Maryland ranked first with 54 percent of votes. Indonesia received 22 percent, South America received 14 percent and China received 10 percent.

How to Cook Maryland Blue Crabs

Serving Maryland blue crabs is an annual tradition for residents around the state. These delicious crabs are among the most famous crabs in the world.  Crabs are usually available from local seafood markets, wholesalers or even direct from commercial watermen.

Most suppliers offer crabs either live and ready to cook, or already steamed. Pre-cooked crabs are a good option in some cases, but for the freshest possible crab feast, nothing beats preparing and cooking crabs at home and serving them hot.

Before cooking crabs, they should be inspected and rinsed, but never allowed to sit submerged in water as this can kill them. Maryland blue crabs can be cooked in a variety of ways, including steaming, boiling, frying or other methods.

The traditional method for steaming crabs in Maryland is steaming.Crabs can be steamed whole, or the top shell can be removed and the body rinsed prior to steaming. In either case, crabs are usually sprinkled heavily with crab seasoning before steaming. This spicy seasoning flavors the crabs during the steaming process.

Medium sized or large seafood steamers are the easiest option for steaming crabs. When an outdoor burner is available, steaming crabs outside is always a good idea. This keeps strong odors outside and makes cleanup much easier.

Most experts recommend that crabs be steamed for about 30 minutes after a rolling boil is reached. Crabs are better if they are kept above the waterline, rather than being immersed during the steaming process.

After steaming, crabs can be served hot or allowed to cool before enjoying. At family celebrations and other seafood feasts, Maryland crabs are usually served with ice cold beer, melted butter, fresh corn on the cob and crackers.

To aid in picking out crab meat, a small paring knife, wooden mallet and claw-cracker are all useful. In addition, crab pickers will need the table lined with newspapers and lots of paper towels as extracting crab meat from the shell is a messy task.

Commercial Limited Crab Catcher (LCC) License Buy-Back Program Ends August 31

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reminding watermen and license holders that the August 31 deadline to submit a bid for the commercial Limited Crab Catcher (LCC) License Buy-Back Program is fast approaching. This voluntary program is in keeping with DNR’s effort to effectively manage Maryland’s blue crab population. Crabbers may receive $2,260 per license, and DNR’s goal is to permanently buy back 2,000 of the latent and active 3,676 LCC licenses.

DNR implemented the buy-back program in response to public feedback. Support for the program came from $15 million in Federal Crab Disaster Funds obtained through the efforts of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and the Maryland Delegation to help watermen and to foster restoration solutions for the crabbing industry in Maryland.

source: DNR

Maryland Watermen Collect Ghost Crab Pots

Maryland watermen have pulled nearly 1,500 abandoned crab pots from the West, Patuxent and Patapsco Rivers as a part of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Ghost Crab Pot Retrieval program. The Program, which is a partnership between DNR, the Oyster Recovery Partnership, Versar inc. and more than 360 watermen started on February 22, and is a part of a plan to help mitigate economic losses from the declining blue crab fishery, while also helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

Estimates based on side-scan sonar surveys conducted by the Maryland Geological Survey, and the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office indicate that there are thousands of ghost pots on the bottom of Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. The problem with these abandoned pots is that they may still be catching and killing crabs and finfish. Additionally, captured fish and crabs essentially become bait for other predators that will enter and also become trapped. Some studies indicate that the average crab pot will last about two years in saltwater.

Approximately 450 watermen have been offered contracts for up to $400 per day plus an additional $150 for a helper to recover and dispose of ghost pots from selected sights. The initial working areas will be the Patuxent, West and Rhode Rivers where concentrations of ghost pots were found.

source: MD DNR press release