Having Your Own Maryland Crab Feast
A Maryland Crab Feast - Have Your Own!
There's nothing that reminds me of summer and home than a Maryland crab feast. I was born and raised in the state of Maryland, and so every summer my family would put on a Maryland crab feast which consisted of a couple bushels of Maryland blue crabs, all of the crab trimmings, and tasty sides. It was usually a thrill to have a Maryland crab feast...a real treat to us Maryland kids!
If you live in Maryland or a state that gets its own decent supply of blue crabs, you should think about having your own Maryland crab feast this Summer. Pitch the hamburgers and hot dogs, and have your next family cook-out gathering Maryland-style with a Maryland crab feast!
Maryland Crab Feast Must-Haves
Maryland Crab Feast Necessities & Must-Haves
The first thing you have to know when having your own Maryland crab feast is that there are certain condiments and must-haves that go along with eating those delicious blue crabs.
Food Must-Haves for a Maryland Crab Feast:
- Saltines - you must have a large supply of saltine crackers on hand for your Maryland crab feast. These salty little morsels are used to stack pieces of juicy crab in order to make saltine crab mini-sandwiches!
- Apple Cider Vinegar - used as a condiment at any respectable Maryland crab feast. You dip the crab in the vinegar and stack it on a saltine.
- Melted Salted Butter - also used as a condiment in substitution of vinegar for those who want a richer taste.
- Old Bay Seasoning - in Maryland, the bushels of crabs come with Old Bay usually all over them; however, sometimes they don't and sometimes you'll want extra Old Bay seasoning for the picked pieces of crab.
Maryland Crab Feast Accessories & Tools...Absolute Necessities!:
- Crab Mallet - you'll need one of these bad boys to crack the claws on some of the large Maryland blue crabs!
- Seafood Picking Set - a set of seafood tools is necessary but not required. The metal pickers and claw crackers work really well with picking crab at a Maryland crab feast. We used these very often at our Maryland crab feasts growing up.
- Disposable Brown Paper for the Table - if you go into any seafood restaurant in Maryland, you'll notice they line their tables in brown disposable paper linings. This is for easy clean-up. You can purchase this brown paper for your own Maryland crab feast for easy, no-fuss clean up. Pick up the paper with the junk and toss it!
- Scrap Buckets - a scrap bucket should be placed on each table for easy disposal of the crab shells at your Maryland crab feast.
Maryland Crab Feast Accessories
Side Dishes Perfect for a Maryland Crab Feast
Everyone who's ever been to a Maryland crab feast knows that the crab you pick from the shells is NEVER enough to eat! Usually you'll walk away with a pit in your stomach if you rely solely on the crab meat to fill you up. So to curb the extra hunger that comes along with a typical Maryland crab feast, you'll want to offer side dishes in addition to the steamed blue crabs.
- Corn on the cob - this is a traditional Maryland crab feast side. In fact, our family usually called them "Maryland crab & corn feasts" as corn was a main item at our Summer family get-togethers.
- Hush puppies - these tasty, mooshy morsels are another traditional side dish to the Maryland crab feast. These are extremely filling and counteract the spiciness of the Old Bay on the crabs.
- Potato salad - while not so traditional for a Maryland crab feast, a very easy and delightful side that would go well with crab and corn.
- Watermelon - serve slices of watermelon as a dessert after the Maryland crab feast crab-pickin' has ended. This will cool everyone off, and the kids will love standing in the yard with the watermelon juice running down their arms!
Written and copyrighted © by Kitty the Dreamer (May Canfield), June 28th, 2012. All Rights Reserved.
How to Properly Pick a Maryland Crab:
© 2012 Kitty Fields