Steamed Blue Crabs

freshly steamed maryland crabs on a table with melted butter and beer

5 from 11 votes

Learn how to make a Maryland crab feast with my mama's steamed blue crabs recipe! Fresh Chesapeake blue crabs covered with Old Bay and steamed in beer and vinegar make for a delicious summer meal of tender, juicy seafood.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: East Coast American

Servings: steamed crabs

Calories: 149kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Ingredients

24 Live Blue Crabs ask for a' quarter bushel of #1 and #2 Jimmies' at the market
2 (12 oz ) bottles light lager or ale beer National Bohemian preferred
2 cups apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
2 cups water optional
1 cup Old Bay Seasoning or J.O. Spice #2, if you can find it

Instructions

Clean the Crabs

Rinse the live crabs in a large bowl under cool running water to remove debris and dirt.
24 Live Blue Crabs
Use tongs to carefully place the crabs back into your cooler on ice as you bring your steaming liquid to a boil in the pot.

Steam the Crabs

In a large steam pot with a steamer rack or basket, pour in the beer, apple cider vinegar, and water (if there's enough space without the liquids touching the bottom of the steamer rack). Bring it to a boil.
2 (12 oz ) bottles light lager or ale beer, 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 2 cups water
Once the liquid is boiling, use your tongs to start layering the crabs into the pot but don't pile them on top of each other. Lay them next to each other on the bottom, and once the bottom is covered, season them generously with ⅓ cup of Old Bay Seasoning. Don't be shy with the Old Bay, use more if you want! You really want those crabs covered in those spices.
1 cup Old Bay Seasoning
Use your tongs to place another layer of crabs on top of the crab layer you just seasoned, and once you have a full layer season those crabs generously with Old Bay as well.
Repeat this process for 3-4 layers, we don't want to overcrowd the pot or else the crabs won't steam evenly. Work in batches (or with a second pot, just double the amount of liquid needed)
Cover the pot with its lid and steam the blue crabs for about 20-22 minutes, until the shells are bright orange. If you see some mustard or white albumin starting to push out of them before the allotted time, they're ready to be removed from the pot!
Repeat Steps 2-5 for the rest of the crabs, after removing the batch of steamed crabs from the pot, until all your crabs are steamed and bright orange.

Serve the Steamed Blue Crabs

Remove the crabs from the pot and either dump them onto a brown paper or newspaper covered table, or into a paper-covered tray for serving.
Let the crab cool for a couple of minutes until they're cool enough to handle but still hot. Eat with wooden mallets, crab crackers, clean fingers (that'll get covered in seasoning), and plenty of napkins.

Notes

Cooking Tips

Keep the crabs on ice until you're about to put them in the pot. They're easier to move around when they are numbed and asleep.
Smaller crabs like females will cook faster than big ones like a #1 Jimmy. Cook a batch of smaller crabs for 10-15 minutes, watching for any albumin pushing out.

Never ate a whole crab before?

I have a post all about how to eat blue crabs like a pro!

Quantity Notes

This is more a method than a follow-by-the-book recipe, if you want to make a full bushel of crabs you can (you'll need a mighty big pot! Or just work in batches) but you won't need 4x the amount of vinegar and beer to do it. Keep a good amount of steaming liquid in the pot and you can keep the crabs a' steamin' as long as they're covered in Old Bay!

Nutrition