SC - Chinese Crab - Charibdys japonica

[Elaine Koogler]

Thanks for your thoughts.  Yes, I know that they shouldn't be expensive here, but they
are, unfortunately.  When we purchased a bushel of crabs for a party this summer, it
ran in excess of $130!!!  Yeah, soft shell crabs would probably give us more to work
with, but even those are pricey.  And their availability is limited only to the summer
months, when they are in that molting/getting a new shell stage.  I also have to admit
to getting mental picture of someone with a crab between two pieces of bread, with the
legs hanging out!  Softshell crab sandwiches are great!  But they do look TRULY weird.

Kiri

Philip & Susan Troy wrote:

> I thought about this for a few minutes, and originally assumed something
> was wrong. I mean, how much could a dozen blue crabs cost right in the
> epicenter of their range? It seems to me that I'd pay perhaps 5 or 6
> dollars for a dozen, and while blue crabs do occur locally, I suspect
> that at least some of what we get in the markets are actually from the Chesapeake.
>
> Now, to add to the confusion, it should be considered that there are
> true Chesapeake Bay people who will think nothing of eating from eight
> to twelve crabs at a sitting. My son is good for about six, if he can
> find a suc-- I mean adult to help crack them, and I might go through
> seven on a good day. Of course, if I were only cracking the shells of my
> own crabs, it might be different... ;  )
>
> I guess a part of your cost prohibitions have to do both with the actual
> amount of meat on a blue crab, ranging from, very little if you're not
> prepared to dig for it to some extent, on through some/not bad at all,
> if you're an old hand at it. Then, also, there's the time factor. I'm
> picturing SCAdians in garb eating blue crabs at an event. Depending on
> the length of your course in minutes, versus the time allotted for most
> SCA feasts (never mind that for the most part they don't represent
> reality), the question of whether this is a great idea remains.
>
> Kiri, have you thought about one large buster or soft-shelled crab per
> person? Would that be any better on a practicality scale? They'd cost
> more than ordinary blues, but would require less work and have more
> accessible meat; you'd need less of them. [For those not familiar with
> these beasties, many arthropods -- I assume-- grow by beginning to form
> a new, larger shell under their old exoskeletons, and then burst out of
> the old, smaller shell, which leaves the new shell somewhat soft, like
> the shells of small shrimp. Standard practice is to remove the eye,
> mouth and gill structures of soft-shelled crabs, flour, crumb, or batter
> what's left, then saute or fry them. (I guess they could be
> honey-stuffed and steamed.) The whole thing is eaten, more or less in
> one piece, in presentations ranging from "on a bun with tartar sauce" to
> "with roasted shallot white wine sauce monter au beurre". But no Spam.
> They _don't_ suck. The main drawback is their seasonal nature.]
>
> Adamantius
> --
> Phil & Susan Troy
>
> troy at asan.com
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