How to Steam Blue Crabs Maryland Style

What I believe to be the best way to steam crabs, Maryland style. I have watched a lot of videos on here and the crabs look nasty or the video was incomplete. Hopefully this can help out someone looking for a very tasty treat. Any questions or comments please feel free to leave them.

[jonaslouissaint]

very matter of fact for a video. this guy gets to the point . no BS . two thumbs up

[TGRZY]

Finally! Someone who knows what they're talking about. I'm from Baltimore born and raised. I moved to California and finding blue crab has been a journey. Finally found a location that sells them and I will be following your method tonight. Thanks bro!

[malteseifyouplease]

This is actually an excellent video. I was born and raised in Maryland. It’s true he doesn’t explain the reasoning behind some of common mistakes but I think that was in the interest of brevity.

For example, you don’t keep crabs in water because a dozen or so crabs will go through the oxygen in standing water relatively quickly and they will literally suffocate in water rather than in the air.

Putting them on ice is great if you have the extra time, it’s a solid step. Beer, vinegar etc is all a personal preference but most folks in Maryland steam with some type of beer combination. And most importantly, he makes it clear that they are to be steamed and not boiled — excellent video.

[ronlawray]

Seen a lot of people explain, but he is the best..ice slowing crabs is great and most people don't even know this...also most didn't know water is virtually not needed...vinegar, beer and a drop of water...

[monroyjose]

I've seen many crazy videos on how to steam crabs the MD way. It made my DMV-raised wife upset because many of them were off their rocker, violating the traditional MD techniques. She didn't get upset about this one. This guy does it the right way.

[ConcerningTheTimes]

Nothing like scrapple for breakfast and steamed crabs for dinner. Marylander by birth, living in Indiana. Now I'm craving steamed crabs. Great video - blessings

[sircharlesbergamyiii]

I used to live In Baltimore years ago and this is as close to how its done on YouTube that I've ever seen-Bravo-CB3

[Slim.Calhoun]

80s baby DC Native here! This is how my family steamed crabs! On the money, glad to see this!

[drpastry]

I live in North Georgia and vacation a lot in Savannah and Tybee Island, Ga. While there one year i came upon Joe's Crab Shack right before you cross over the bridge to get to Tybee Island. We were starving and i mean starrrving and the waitress was very nice and described everything to us thoroughly and while sipping our sweet iced tea i was watching the cooks and how they were dressing the blue crab and lobster for the evening menu.He calls me back and showed me how to steam blue crab the right way and it was done EXACTLY like this guy did his and i wonder if he ever worked at Joe's.haha The guy turned out to be the owners son and told me when we get headed home from our vacation to stop by and he would fix me up. Well, i had almost forgotten til someone with us mentioned if we should stop by and have some more authentic crab before heading home and then i remembered.We ate there again, had drinks in these coconut figures that were done up like monkey's and my god he stuffed our stomachs good then brought over a bag full of live blue crab and told me to get them in a cooler and ice them down to shock them. We went and bought a cooler and iced them down before getting on the interstate heading home. I steamed those crab exactly the way he showed me and they were just like Joe's. I can't find fresh seafood in North Georgia but if you ever go to Tybee Island, Ga. stop by The Crab Shack on the right side of the road just before going into Tybee. You will thank me for it, trust and believe that.

[mixerseven]

THIS GUY DOES IT THE RIGHT WAY, JUST LIKE HE SAYS, TESTED AND TRUE, THANKS

[wilsonjr]

I’m from West Baltimore I don’t see any arrogance from this guy. He’s straight to the point .Just the way we do it here....
Great Video.

[TurboEspeon]

One of the best tutorials out there. I tried this and used beer this time instead of water and the difference in the results were so impeccable. Thumbs up from me.

[Hotdogwateryum]

What's the difference between Coor's and water?

[burkesongs]

I really appreciate this video. I live, well, not in Maryland anymore and where I live they don't know how to steam crabs: they tend to boil them. Bleh! I'm very happy to see someone do it the proper way. I have followed your instructions and they turned out perfectly. I use Old Bay and a little sea salt to season them and the beer I use is actually Narragansett. Other than that I follow your instructions to the letter. Thanks for posting this vid!

[nativebergen]

Don't hate. When I first started watching this video, I was like.. "Oh so this guy thinks he knows..." But his way of cooking them actually looks pretty damn good. The vinegar, beer and seasoning. Can't wait to try this method. Adding corn in the husk on the top would be a nice touch too. That green husk corn taste would make for nice seasoning.

Thanks Gregory, for the video!

[nickwilliams]

"You'll know they are dead when their bodies go limp" Thanks Charlie Mason.

[ashleydavison]

THAT IS THE BEST CRAB COOKING VIDEO EVER!!
i would have loved another 10 minutes of how to crackem n eatem..
WELL DONE!!!!
im hungry now!

[DPDK]

I grew up around the Chesapeake in Virginia and learned how to steam crabs when I was 10 or 12. This is pretty much how we did it except we used Old Bay "Crab Boil" seasoning - actually a more traditional seasoning for crabs and shrimp. The beer is typical but any kind of alcohol will work. It doesn't add flavor to the crabs, but alcohol produces steam at a lower temperature. Water steam is hotter so cooking times are reduced if you use water, and reduced even further if you put a weight on the top of the pot. The vinegar helps keep the boiling water from frothing up as the crabs drip protein rich juices into the water. After being in southern Louisiana for the last 13 years, I learned the various methods for boiling crabs and shrimp. The main difference is that the crabs hold more water and make a bigger mess as you pick them when boiled. You have to choose your spices more carefully when boiling because unlike steaming, the boiling water carries the spices into the inside and flavors the meat. Steamed crabs the spices get on your hands as you pick the crab and introduce the spices more that way than during the cooking process.
A really good tip: If you are not one to sit down to a picnic table covered in news paper and spend several hours picking crabs with your friends and family, but prefer to pick the crabs in the kitchen and use the meat to make crab cakes or stuff a fish fillet, or to cut into your seafood gumbo, stop cooking the crabs at the point where you still see darkness (sorta' bluish brownish copper) on the crab's back. This is about 80% cooked (for most people) but it allows you to further cook the meat in whatever dish without turning the meat into a stringy pulp. They are a little more difficult to pick but worth it to have whole crab meat chunks floating around in the Gumbo.

[nicolec]

yes I'm a Maryland girl . so many memories of eating fresh crabs

[waltkraybill]

Great video. Leaving out the water and just using vinegar and beer did the trick. A nice good dry steam resulted in non-soggy, non-watery, delicious crabs. Thanks for taking the time and effort for posting. I'm in NC and couldn't find the last missing ingredient - Natty Boh :)