Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Louisiana Blue Crabs


 Lake Pontchartrain Blue Crabs
 
 Greg with ice chest of crabs
 
Picking out the Big Males
 
 Greg showing off our crabs

 
 Blue Crab 9" Tip to Tip


Last week I had to make a trip to South Louisiana to check on product we were buying and to find out the latest on British Petroleum's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

I can always count on Greg Nick when I call and say I need help and today was a day that I would be spending 20 or so hours on the road alone, traveling the Louisiana coast.  He immediately  volunteered to help and when passing through Lafayette I picked him up.  We always make the best out of our trips together and traveling with him  is never going to be monotonous or boring and today was no exception. 

We were going to see our oyster fisherman, shrimp buyers and crabbers today and knew that somewhere along the way we would find some of Louisiana's  finest seafood for Greg to take back home to Peggy, Greg's wife.

On this trip we picked up a number of wonderful Louisiana delicacies and Anthony Liuzza's,  Liuzza Farms, produced some of them.  Our first stop was to pick up Liuzza's Creole tomato's and the famous Louisiana  strawberries at a favorite produce stand along the way.  Liuzza Farms are considered one of the premiere local farmers in  Louisiana and located in Tickfaw, LA.  Greg's favorite tomato's are the Liuzza Creole and I agree with him.

Next we went to visit a crabber friend of mine to talk to some of his friends about frogging for me this summer when the season opens.  Louisiana has some of the tastiest and tenderest frogs I have  eaten.  I want to introduce these frog legs to  some of our chefs in Texas  and in turn have their customers find out what they have been missing.

While we were there, crabbers were coming in from Lake Pontchartrain with some of the prettiest crabs I had seen this month.  Seeing these beauties, we could not pass picking up a couple of dozen.  A crab feast was in the making and with these giants you did not need more than three crabs per person.  Most of the crabs were  9 inches across from tip to tip, which I consider giant.

Greg and I both love boiled crabs and the way he cooks them is my favorite way.   He is of the old school New Orleans style, boiling then soaking.   He seasons the water to the taste he likes then adds the crabs, back side up.  After they are cooked he allows them to soak in the liquid that they were boiled in while adding a bag of ice to the boiling pot.  This change in temperature allows the crab to suck in the seasoned water, seasoning the blue crab's succulent sweet meat throughout.  He is one of the best crab cooks I know and could not wait to have him throw these beauties in his boiling pot.
 

We had a great trip that day, seeing crabbers, oyster-men, shrimpers and farmers but the highlight of this day was  not the wonderful bounty that we were able to find throughout South Louisiana, it was the quality time I got to spend with Greg, one of my oldest and most trusted friends.

7 comments:

FoodLion said...

Oh my Lord, somebody bring me some of those giants, so I can cook them the proper way for y'all.
Cain't nobody down here steam a crab?

Jim Gossen said...

Turtle, I would gladly have you steam us some. Greg and I loved the ones from Obrycki's in Baltimore with their black pepper seasoning. They were also as big as these!

Thanks for your comment.

FoodLion said...

You know, I've only been to Obrycki's once, and had softshells not steamed. I have had a black pepper seasoning on crabs and it was awesome, but those were from an Ocean City MD place that I don't remember.

Anyway, I would be honored to steam some #1 jimmys for y'all. I have steamer pot, water, beer and/or vinegar, and Old Bay.

Now where's the crabs? Back in DC I knew I could go down to Maine Ave. wharf and get a dozen in a sack to cook for dinner. Or from home I could run up to Cap'n somebody's in Laurel to get live crabs. The only live crabs I've found in Houston are small females at ethnic grocery stores.

ps: you might know me better as decklid18

FoodLion said...

Oh - and of course I don't truly begrudge the Southern crab cooking methods. I do think the boiling/frying versions put seasoning first over the delicate sweetness of the crab meat. And worse, the mustard in the shell points gets ruined.

Jim Gossen said...

It is almost impossible to find crabs like the one's in my blog. All of those are pre-sold and shipped to Maryland, they are willing to pay the price and so goes our best products as usual to the highest bidder.

jackiee said...

You seem to have a passion for food, so I was wondering if you have a some healthy recipes of your own that you make. If you do, you should send them into this contest I know of that’s making its way around the country, the Aetna Healthy Food Fight. It’s coming to San Antonio on October 2-3 and Houston on October 9-10! I noticed your blog and thought you would be interested. You could get great exposure for your recipes and meet celebrity cooks (Bobby Flay, Sunny Anderson, Sara Moulton, or Cat Cora). All you have to do is go to healthyfoodfight.com to submit one of your healthy recipes. Deadline to sign up for San Antonio is September 15th and Houston is September 22nd so hurry! Good luck if you decide to enter, and if not, keep posting! :)

Crabanero.com said...

Those huge crabs and Crabanero brand hot sauce...

Just a thought.

www.crabanero.com

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