They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!! 
First pickings of the year for me.
First pickings of the year for me.
Hardshell Crabs prices - updated 10/12/2021
- Thread starter Agoodnap
- Start date
Where? I read a story in the WaPost this morning that said that there was a strong crop this year.They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
Seems to me that this is a good sign for sustainability.
Here's the winter dredge survey. Overall, it looks better then recent years and in particular the number of smaller crabs, less than 2.4", means August, September, and October are going to be delicious.
http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/blue-crab/dredge.aspx
Do you season your crabs?They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
Word in Balto. is the crabs are going to be excellent this year.
I'm not sure...If you could definitively state what category salt is in I could answer.Do you season your crabs?
Yep, look at the dredge report I posted. Crabs grow 30% every 3 -5 weeks depending on food availability. In the Chesapeake they grow much faster than the average, so it's time for some math!
Wake-up from Winter nap: April 15th
Assume a 1.3 growth every 4 weeks.
A 2" crab on April 15th will be 5.7" (legal size is 5.5") on August 5th, and 7.4" on September 2nd, just in time for Labor Day!
@LionJim could you please check this math.
Read the dredge report I posted. Up, but no where near 60% for legal size crabs.
I'm a rock salt old bay and white vino steamer.Big Jimmys.I'm not sure...If you could definitively state what category salt is in I could answer.
But were they heavy? With crabs size doesn't always matter. I do love some hard shells that are loaded with Old Bay along with lots of beer.They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
The dredge report is much more accurate than the Drudge Report
.Any place in PA/NJ to get real crabcakes?
Meaning Baltimore style.
I'm tired of looking.
Meaning Baltimore style.
I'm tired of looking.
Well, depends what you mean by real. I would say 99.99% of the crab cakes sold utilize garbage sourced from ex-US. The demand is for bigger the better lumps even if it’s bleached ex-US garbage versus true flavor from the brine in domestic waters whether it be the Chesapeake or Louisiana Gulf. I can’t say I’ve been to any place in PA or NJ that impressed me but that’s because I compare everything to mine and nothing remotely comes close.
Lawnton American Legion Post 998 in Harrisburg has some of the best crabcakes you will find anywhere. You will be hard pressed to find anything in the region that compares, especially for what they charge.
Supposedly the blue crab population is going to be one of the best in recent memory this year
I'm not sure...If you could definitively state what category salt is in I could answer.
Considering companies sell a blend of herbs/spices marketed as "crab seasoning", much like companies sell a blend of herbs/spices marketed as "steak seasoning". I can for sure say that while salt is a mineral you can use to season crabs, it's not "crab seasoning" or "steak seasoning", it's just salt. That is an indisputable truth, and to this day I can't believe some idiot wanted to argue otherwise. Although I do like continually reminding whoever that was how wrong they were.
Enjoy the crabs!
They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
Wow, that is a really good price for this early in the year. I usually don't bother going to the wharf in DC for crabs until after the 4th of July. Going to go down as soon as I have a chance. 15 crabs means crabs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sweet.
Just picked up a dozen hard shells for $12. Yes, $12/dozen. No one is making money...but I'm eating pretty good!
Isn't part of the problem that the Maryland crab processing facilities can't operate because they can't get work permits for their immigrant pickers? So no picked crabmeat from Maryland. Some of the Maryland brands actually imported crabmeat and repackaged it because they couldn't pick their own. It's another one of these occupations that is unlikely to be filled with domestic labor -- not too many American kids are growing up with dreams of being professional crab pickers.
I read where Phillips crab needed to be able to source their crab meat so they would have a year round supply for all their different outlets. They traveled around the world to find crab that tasted like it came from the Chesapeake, and found that crab from Viet Nam tasted the most like Chesapeake Bay crabs and they could get them year round. So many come from there.
They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
Mid-twenties developed deadly allergy to shellfish. That's my favorite food of all time blue crabs seasoned and chlled.
Bom Apetite
Shalom
They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
I'm jealous
You buy “blue crabs” out of season around MD and you are playing with dice with where they are coming from.
“MD” blue crabs in season may come from MD, DE, VA, NC, NJ, or even NY. Unless you buy off the boat, you can’t be sure. After many “down” years it looks like the population is about to pop back up, but don’t expect prices to drop.
When I read Southeast Asia I think Viet Nam, sorry but.
Worldwide Vision
When you are faced with the depleted supply of the primary seafood on your restaurant menus, what do you do? For Steve Phillips, he took matters into his own hands. He heard there was a similar crab to the native Chesapeake Bay blue crab in Asia, so he took a few Maryland watermen overseas to do a survey and the rest is history.
GROWTH IN FOODSERVICE PRODUCTION
Steve built processing plants in Southeast Asia and began to produce pasteurized crab meat according to his high standards of quality and safety. Thanks to Steve’s vision and foresight, Phillips now has a year-round supply of crab meat and produces an extensive line of crab cakes, seafood soups, appetizers and entrees for thousands of independent restaurants and national chains. Steve keeps his eye on the future, anticipating industry trends and demanding innovation from his research and development team.
Phillips is a global food manufacturer, vertically integrated to ensure a dependable, safe product supply. To provide the highest levels of safety and quality, Phillips owns and manages our own crab, seafood and fish processing plants throughout Southeast Asia as well as our original plant in Hoopers Island, Maryland. This allows us to maintain 100% control over quality and consistency, from water to table
been to an oyster processing house as well
Where did you get them? I pay $75 - $80 a dozen down here in NC. I would make a drive for those.They measured 5 3/4" up to 6 1/2". When I got home I found 15 crabs in the bag! Nice!!!
You may not want to hear this, but THE best crabcakes I have ever eaten were at the Big Fish Grill in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Tons of meat and little or no filler.
