Crab Deviled Eggs, Baltimore Style

It is required that when one returns from the Maryland shore, one bring home pounds of pure, sweet, fresh, picked-by-hand, snow white and succulent Maryland blue crabmeat. At least it's required when that "one" is me. No trip to Maryland is ever complete without bringing home the bounty of the sea...or the bay.
 
When visiting Annapolis or Baltimore, the bay in question is the Chesapeake. When visiting Ocean City, the bay being referred to is the Assawoman Bay...and yes, there is also the Big Assawoman Bay AND the Little Assawoman Bay. It's an Indian name. Really!
 
There is a HUGE difference in the quality of fresh crab and the canned, pasteurized variety! ONLY real, honest to God Maryland or Virginia blue crab that is hand-picked, fresh-packed and NEVER pasteurized is what you want. 

If it comes in a can, it isn't fresh, if it comes in a plastic container with a snap-on lid and says Maryland or Virginia crab, that's what you're looking for. 

But be careful! Sometimes you'll find the phrase, "Packed in Maryland" and elsewhere it says it's from Indonesia or China or Vietnam. That's the pasteurized stuff in the can that tries to make you think it's Maryland crab. Packed in Maryland? How do they preserve it over all that distance? Eek! Okay...I'll get off my American blue crab is superior to any other crab soapbox now.
 
Now that I've brought the good stuff home, do I ever have plans for the crabmeat! Specifically, deviled eggs. CRAB deviled eggs! These are a recreation of a dish I delighted in many (many) years ago when Uncle Harry treated me, my sister, Mom & Dad and my grandmother to a fancy dinner in downtown Baltimore. 

An hors doeuvres cart came by each table at the restaurant offering all variety of tiny bites before dinner...all you wanted. The cart, laden with little treasures of crab, cheese, lobster, shrimp, meats, fruits and vegetables in all sorts of preparations, circled the room and wound its way among the tables all through dinner.
 
Being a big deviled egg fan, that's what I chose - it was fancy, of course. Instead of sliced horizontally, it stood on end with a zigzag cut across the top and heaps of creamy egg filling with CRAB! Wow. Crab deviled eggs instantly became my favorite deviled egg ever! And that was the very last time I got to experience one. Until Sunday.
 
My presentation wasn't as fancy - I didn't stand them on end or zigzag the tops - but they were everything I remembered. Smooth, creamy, just a little crunch of celery, spicy with Old Bay and sweet with REAL Maryland crabmeat...crowned with a fat lump of backfin crab and dusted with just a touch more of Old Bay. Heaven.
 
Here's the recipe. Oh, and Iris? I WILL be making these for YOU!

 Crab Deviled Eggs, Baltimore Style

• 7 eggs, hardboiled,cooled, shelled, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seafood seasoning, plus extra to dust the tops of the deviled eggs
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, Colmans!
• 5 tablespoons mayonnaise, Hellmans!
• 2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Maryland backfin crab, remove any shell and/or cartiledge - In addition, set aside the largest crab lumps from the top of the container to garnish each deviled egg

Carefully remove the yolks from each cooled hardboiled egg half to a small bowl. When all the cooked yolks are in the bowl, mash them very well with a fork until finely crumbled. Sprinkle the mashed yolks with Old Bay, celery and dry mustard. Mix the Worcestershire and mayo together then pour over the egg yolks and seasonings. Mix very well - add more mayo if it seems too thick or more Old Bay if it doesn't seem to have enough spice.
 
Once the egg mixture is ready, GENTLY fold in 1/2 cup of crab and mix completely without breaking up the crab too much. You don't want the big lumps for this anyway. The reserved big lumps will be the garnish for each egg half once the whites are filled.
 
Mound the egg crab mixture into the centers of each white, dividing evenly. Garnish with a nice big crab lump and dust with Old Bay. Place each deviled egg half into a deviled egg tray that hold 12 deviled eggs. But there are 2 extra! Put the nicest ones in the dish and the other two are YOURS! Reward time!


NOTE: Notice I used only 1/2 a cup from the container? The rest of the pound - 3/4 pound - went to make the Maryland Corn Jalapeno Crab Imperial I posted yesterday. I made the MOST of that pound of crabmeat!

Tradition - Feelin' Crabby?

“Feelin’ crabby?”  Crabfeast invitations in Baltimore always started that way when Walt and Peg were on the other end of the phoneline. It was our signal to hop in our British Racing green ’68 VW Bug  and head over to West Baltimore. A quick stop on Frederick Road for at least a 6-pack of Natty Boh (National Bohemian beer to you non-Marylanders) was a must.  Big spenders that we were in those days, we might even have picked up some National Premium, too! 

 


When that call came, the invitation was never refused. Mark and I knew there was an evening of great stories, lots of laughs and warm friendship ahead…and damned good crabs, too!

Once we pulled up in front of the classically Baltimore red brick rowhouse on Parksley Avenue, we’d hop out, mount the stairs and head straight to the tiny kitchen.  A 50’s-style Formica and chrome kitchen table sat already covered in several layers of the Baltimore Sun, while a pile of wooden crab mallets and sharp knives waited at the ready poised to pry that sweet, succulent pure white meat from crimson carapaces.

But what about those guests of honor? The CRABS! On the counter sat great big brown paper grocery bags, somewhat lumpy, slightly damp and sometimes stained red from a generous amount of Old-Bay-seasoned Callinectes sapidus Rathbun – Maryland Blue Crabs to we non-scientific folks.

Carried to the table, bags were ripped open and hot crabs dumped unceremoniously into the center of the table which signaled the start of jokes, laughter, tall tales and memories that didn’t stop for hours. You see, crabfeasts aren’t so much a dining experience as they are a social occasion. Hot and spicy crabs with dear friends…nothing better!

Well, except maybe a rousing game or three of Pitch – a Baltimore card game (high, low, Jack, game) - played around the same Formica table once the crabs had been cleared away. The beer remained, of course.

In the summers of the 60’s and 70’s we’d all occasionally vacation together...which meant that entire scene shifted to Ocean City, MD. Live blue crabs, that we’d caught by the bushel in the shallows of Big Assawoman Bay, would lounge in the bathtub while Peg readied the big ol’ crabpot. 

Batch by batch, they’d be steamed in beer, vinegar and many heaping handfuls of Old Bay. Games of Pitch would again follow the feast. (That was in the day when Ocean City streets only went up into the 40’s…now the streets number well above the 100’s right up to Fenwick Island.)

The years wore on, faces around the table in Baltimore changed as children, and eventually even grandchildren, were born. The red brick rowhouse was sold and the family moved out of the city to the suburbs, but the crabfeasts continued.  It was never about the place or the crabs…it was about spending time with those we loved. 

That broken finger (Yikes! 1st day at the beach in the surf!) didn't stop Grace!

And now another generation is gathering together in Ocean City. Crabs are being experienced for the very first time by my own grandchildren. I’m looking around seeing faces I love around a table piled high with bright red, spicy crabs. 

As crab-first-timers, those young faces are a mix of excitement, anticipation – and maybe even a little fear. Crabs might be the physical centerpiece of the day, but it’s the tradition that is making me smile…that and memories of family and friends and wonderful times gone by and of the brand new memories being made right here, right now.

One more thing…Peg made incredible Maryland Crab Soup! I came to the beach armed with Peg’s recipe and yet one more opportunity to create another traditional meal and memory. 

Here’s Peg’s very own recipe:

Peg’s Ocean City Maryland Crab Soup

• 1 1/2 pounds chuck roast, fat removed 
• 3 onions, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped 
• 4 celery ribs, with leaves, sliced thinly
• Water
• 1 LARGE can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato juice
• 4 potatoes, diced
• 6 leftover crabs - SEE NOTE
• 1 pound crab claw meat – either saved from your crabfeast or storebought
• 1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
• Old Bay seafood seasoning (the more, the better!)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• garlic salt to taste

Add the chuck roast, onions, carrots, and celery to a large soup pot or crabpot, barely cover with water & cook until meat is tender. Remove meat, cut into pieces. Return beef to stock in pot

Add tomatoes, tomato juice, potatoes, claw meat, mixed veggies and seasonings. Add more water, if necessary to almost cover the solids. Bring to boil, add cleaned crabs and the remaining ingredients; lower heat, cover and simmer until done. Adjust seasoning and ladle soup into bowls, placing a half crab on top of each.

 
NOTE: Clean each crab by removing top shell and cleaning out the gills and the devil (crab term) - be sure to leave legs and claws attached; snap cleaned crab in half along the natural center of the body and toss into boiling stock in pot. Be sure to toss those top shells into the pot, too, for extra crabby flavor!

Low Country Grilled Shrimp, Andouille & Veggies with Old Bay Beer Butter

Feelin' beachy? Me too! So much so that I've been craving a good ol' shrimp boil...something to help assuage the longing for sand, sun and seafood until we hit Ocean City next month. This one easily qualifies under my "Quickie" category because there's almost no prep and it cooks in minutes. Nope, not in a steamer as is traditional for a boil, but on the grill. And it's done in a flash!

Usually we haul out the propane-fueled turkey fryer/steamer to do a boil...and that's just perfect with a big crowd. With just the two of us for dinner on Sunday, that method didn't make any sense at all. Out came the grill!

To get the same Maryland-style flavors we were craving, Old Bay beer butter was basted onto heaps of shrimp, small red potatoes, onions, Andouille sausages and corn right on the grill.  Yes, there were some flare ups, but that just helped to give a desirable blackened quality to the andouille and shrimp and made the corn almost caramel-y. 

The result? It seemed just like being oceanfront at the beach with the same hoppy, spicy deliciousness of a boil, combined with the smoky flavors only a grill can produce.  We were happy campers!

Even though the cries of seagulls were missing, I swear I caught just the faintest whiff of salt air. Not only that, I think our grilled "boil" may have been even better than the original! Now bring on Ocean City and crabs....I'm READY!

 Low Country Grilled Shrimp, Andouille & Veggies

with Old Bay Beer Butter

 Serves 2 - with plenty of leftovers

• 1 pound shrimp, jumbo, raw, peeled, tails on - threaded onto metal skewers (or wooden skewers that have soaked in water (or beer) for at least an hour)
• 1 pound sausage, andouille if you can find it - kielbasa is good, too!
• 1 pound red potatoes, small ones, cut in half - cooked in the microwave for a few minutes until almost done, but not quite
• 1 large vidalia onion, peeled, cut into eigths - leave stem end intact so the layers don't seperate
• 4 ears of corn, husked, silk removed

• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons Old Bay Seafood seasoning
• 1/4 cup beer, gluten-free beer to make this GF - your favorite regular beer if gluten isn't an issue

Baste: In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, beer and Old Bay. Set aside.
 
Heat up your grill - keep it low because the butter baste is going to flare up...even with the heat low. It's okay because that smoky, blackened flavor intensifies the sweetness of the corn and the veggies...YUM! Also, be SURE to use a long-handled basting brush and work quickly to avoid the flames. No burns or catching on fire, please!

 

Once the grill is ready, pile on the corn, potatoes, onions, sausage and last, the shrimp. Baste liberally with the Old Bay Beer Butter. This will flare up. Be very careful,! As each item is done, remove to a platter. The shrimp won't take long at all. When everything is done, it's dinner time! All you need is some good crusty bread and a bottle of your favorite beer or wine. So easy! So good!

Superbowl Sunday!!!

 Superbowl Sunday is here! Yippee!  Superbowl Sunday is here!!!!  So why am I excited...I don't have a dog in this fight, the Steelers aren't playing, so why do I care?  The food, baby, the food!  

The only positive thing about the Steelers not playing today is not having to stress over what the outcome might be - alright, it's obvious I'm desperate to turn the dark cloud of a non-Steeler Superbowl into a silver lining.  At least I can concentrate on the food instead of who actually wins or loses.  (Well, I do have a preference...I prefer that anyone but Brady wins.)  

Another positive is that I don't have to slave over the black and gold, finely detailed Steeler sugar cookies in helmet shapes with my favorite numbers emblazoned in icing upon them.  (Those numbers would be 86, 43, 99, 83, 25 and 92 for starters.  If you, too, are a Steelers fan, you KNOW the players behind those numbers!) Although I'd give my eyeteeth to have a reason to make those cookies.

Enough about what I''m not making, What will the dishes gracing the coffee table in front of our TV be this evening?  Old Bay wings (Old Bay = Baltimore =  the Ravens aren't playing either!  Sorry Baltimore friends...we DO have a rivalry, but I do love my Old Bay!), Duck Fat Fries - white AND sweet potato and Taco Soup.  Here's an equation again, warning!  Taco soup = SOUP-er Bowl.  Sorry.  Had to go there.

Taco soup isn't a complicated, slave-over-the-stove for hours kind of dish.  This easy, bold, beefy dish comes together in a hurry into a meal that's almost a chili, almost a soup and completely game day appropriate.  It's everything you crave in a taco...beef, beans, tomato, chiles (and then some), then top it off with sour cream, salsa, sliced green onions, shredded cheese...whatever YOU like in a taco. Crown that bowl of goodness with crushed tortilla chips for that final corny, taco touch and it's a touchdown in a bowl.

Taco Soup

• 2 pounds ground beef, extra lean
• 1 large onion, diced
• half a head of garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 envelopes taco seasoning mix (I like the hot n spicy kind) (to make this gluten-free, check the label!)
• 1 envelope ranch-style dressing mix (to make this gluten-free, check the label!)
• 1 16-ounce can black beans, undrained
• 1 16-ounce can corn, undrained
• 2 16-ounce can hominy, undrained (hominy MAKES this soup...do NOT skip it)
• 2 4-ounce cans green chiles, undrained
• 2 10 3/4 -unce cans RoTel undrained
• 2 14 ounce cans beef broth

Brown meat, onion and garlic in soup pot.  Begin adding ingredients one at a time, alternating dry ingredients with canned ingredients.  Stir after each addition. Cover; simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
 
Serve in bowls.  Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips, a dollup of sour cream a little salsa and sliced green onions.  Your taco shell and garnishes are on top of the soup! 

Lemon Garlic Old Bay Wings

(picture later)

What's the Superbowl without wings?!  I don't know and I don't intend to find out.  Here's an alternative to Buffalo wings if you're in the mood to try something new.  And completely wonderful.

• 24 wing portions - flats and drummies
• 3 T. Old Bay, plus more for sprinkling before serving
• 1 T. granulated garlic
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• juice of 1 large lemon or 2 smaller lemons - good juicy ones
• 3 T. olive oil

Put the wings and the rest of the ingredients into a large ziptop bag and mix them around well.  Squeeze the air out, zip and refrigerate overnight or for at least a couple hours before baking.


Preheat the oven to 400.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil, arrange the wings so there is plenty of room around each and bake for 30 minutes.  Turn each wing over and continue baking until browned and crisp.  Remove to a serving platter, squeeze a little lemon juice over the top and sprinkle with a little additional Old Bay.  


I like these just as they are - naked.  The hubby likes them dipped in bleu cheese dressing.