Where to catch crab and how to prepare them?

We plan to try some crabbing with the kids and was hoping to get some advice on where to go and how to prepare them. What kind of crabs are there in the area and are they all good to eat? What part of the crab are eatable - do people eat the body of the crab? Do you boil the whole crab, and for how long? Could anyone share any good fresh crab recipes?

We went crabbing in Myrtle Beach a couple years ago and caught a few, but let them go as we weren%26#39;t sure how to cook them. We found some on the beach at night, I think they were Blue Crabs. We also caught some using chicken necks as bait on a string at a dock one night. Are the traps the better way to catch them? We have a condo this time, so we%26#39;ll have a kitchen. Thanks in advance for any and all advice you could share!

Where to catch crab and how to prepare them?

OK. Please understand that I am not trying to be a smart a** here, but I would suggest going to either Destin Ice or Dewey Destin%26#39;s and ask for ';crab lessons';. Go at a time when they are not busy.

Purchase a few crabs from then and ask them what part to eat and how to prepare them.

I say this because the first time I ate a crab, I was told to eat anything white. NOT SO! I ate part of a crab that shouldn%26#39;t have been eaten and remember to this day the taste...bla...

As where to catch them, maybe JoeMammy will chime in. He spends more time in and around the water than I do.

Here is a web site with a LOT of information regarding Blue Crabs. That is mostly what we have here.

http://www.blue-crab.org

I thought you were suppose to throw female%26#39;s back, but someone needs to clarify that.

Where to catch crab and how to prepare them?

I love crab - king crab and sometimes snow crab. Winn Dixie always has them on sale. Nothing but legs and claws, steam them for 15 minutes and eat everything but the shells. I%26#39;ve been BBQing them lately too...mmmmm!

As far as blue crab, most people net them along the jettys or look in the grass flats around crab island. Know your limits - 10 gallons per day. If you have traps the max is 5 traps. Illegal to take egg bearing. For me, they are way too much work for the payoff - not much meat and alot of shell picking.

I see visitors filling up a net and then abandoning them on the beach to die in their nets or buckets, please only take them if you going to eat them.

I%26#39;ve caught blue crabs in the bay before, but you really need some good nets or traps.

As far as cooking - Buy a couple of bottles of Zatarain%26#39;s Crab Boil and follow the directions! Awesome.

You%26#39;re reading my mind.

We watched an old man catch a 5 gallon pail full of blue crabs last year, right off the beach in Crystal Beach.

I%26#39;m taking a big pot with a false bottom and am going to catch and steam my own this year, also.

To catch them, just get a sturdy net and wade into the water off your beach when the water is fairly calm. Be patient and you%26#39;ll start seeing them scurrying around. Just net them and throw them in a bucket with some fresh gulf water in it. IMPORTANT: You want to keep them alive until you throw them into the steamer.

Cooking them: Go to the website Semco mentioned (blue-crab.org), go to ';buying tips and recipes, then click on ';Maryland style steamed blue crabs'; and follow that recipe for awesome crabs. Just get a big can of Old Bay seasoning (you don%26#39;t need the J.O. brand), a big pot with a floor to hold up the crabs, and follow the directions for steaming.

Eating them: break off each leg, crack %26#39;em open and eat the meat. You%26#39;ll need some little wooden mallets to gently break the shells without destroying the meat. After you eat the legs, hold the shell upside down with your fingers around the outer edge. Wedge the fingers of your other hand under the bottom half of the shell and just pull the body in half. You%26#39;ll see the white meat around the outer edge where the legs were attached. Dig all that out and eat.

Don%26#39;t eat the lungs (feathery looking organs) and don%26#39;t eat any of that mustardy looking gunk, either. In fact, just throw the rest of it away after you get the white meat out.

The best part is the Old Bay all over your fingers while you%26#39;re eating.

Be careful of the shells while you%26#39;re tearing everything apart. You can open up a nasty wound if your not careful.

Bon appetit!

One other thing:

also read the ';cooking related questions'; at that website.

There is some info. about keeping them alive (never in standing water, my apologies) until cooking time and how to euthanize them prior to steaming so they don%26#39;t ';eject'; their legs.

Get some good crab nets or baskets.

The only part of the crab I don%26#39;t eat is the lungs. The yellow-ish fatty part I tend to think tastes good.

Thanks for the replies everyone! What%26#39;s a good crab net look like? We bought one in Myrtle Beach at Wal-Mart that was around 6%26#39; long, but looked like a nomal net to me. I missed the ';buying tips and recipes'; section in Semco%26#39;s link, I%26#39;ll check that out. So do we not need to bring crab crackers (or what ever you call the things), just a wooden mallet? Is there any way to improvise a ';floor'; for a big pot? We won%26#39;t have room to bring a pot....hoping the condo will have one, or maybe the owner could lend us her%26#39;s as she%26#39;s a local there.

I noticed we saw more crab at night on desolate beaches late at night in MB. We are staying at Island Sands in FWB, which is 3 or 4 condos from the West end on Okaloosa Is., where the beach for the Air Force propert begins. Would that be a good place to go crabbin you think, being it%26#39;ll probably be fairly desolate? And we saw them on the beach, scurrying along the sand mostly, at low tide. Are we supposed to wade in the water for them? How deep? I take it during the day is best, if were pulling them out the water, or would flashlights at night work? What about at the Marina at night by the docks using a weighted crab string w/ chicken necks, and then netting them, Has anyone had luck catching them like that? Were doing this more for fun - mostly for the kids (12 %26amp; 13), although we get a kick out of it as well. If we don%26#39;t catch any, we%26#39;ll probably just go buy some. How much do the avg size blue crabs sell for? Please don%26#39;t tell me per pound, as I have no idea how many pounds an avg size crab weighs. Sorry for all the questions! Looking forward to netting a few!!

Are the Blue crabs in Destin hard shell or soft shell crabs?

Soft shell crabs are blue crabs that are going through the molting process.

NOTE: The lungs appear to be white. They are crunchy and salty and should not be eaten!!!! (My first crab experience people said eat everything white.)