Steaming Crabs with Seaweed

[Greenlady]

Thought I'd share this with you all. 

We went on a crabbing trip last year and stupidly I forgot my big steamer pot.  Desperate times call for ingenuity. So here's what I did.  I collected a bunch of seagrass and seaweed that had washed ashore-enough to fill a big 5 gallon plastic bucket.   We went to the local park that had those square like bbq grills on a single pedestal.  I got a charcoal fire going nice and hot and glowing, and lowered the grill grate very close to the fire. While I was doing this my husband pithed the crabs to keep them from moving.  I put a thick layer of wet (but not dripping wet) sea weed on the bottom grate, and then put the pithed crabs on on that first layer of seaweed, and sprinkle them with some Old Bay. Cover the crabs with more wet sea weed, and put another layer of crabs, seasoning, and sea weed on on top of them.  Kinda like you would layer lasangna.   20 minutes later, we had perfectly steamed crabs, and I swear they were the tastiest we've ever had.  It's more work than putting them in a pot, but boy is it worth it. 

So if you ever find yourself in a pinch, or just want to try a new way of cooking your catch, give this a try. 
Happy crabbing and fat pickins!

[mdjohn]

 

[crabbywaters]

Alton brown is the man. A few years i steamed crabs with oak leaves in the water. Didn't feel like cleaning them out lol. Best tasting crabs i ever had.

[Crab Shack]

Seaweed, you're inviting people to steam some crabs with you?