Approx. 7 dozen

French Fried Jimmy Crabs

Ingredients:
• 1 dozen medium-sized male crabs (washed and scrubbed in water with legs, back sh
• 1 pound backfin crab meat
• 1 scant cup flour
• 1 scant cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 2 teaspoons parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (enough vegetable oil for deep frying)

Preparation Instructions:

Combine all ingredients except crab, crab meat and vegetable oil to make a batter. Stir one tablespoon of vegetable oil into the batter. Fill crab crevices where innards were removed with crab meat and press the crab meat firmly into the crevice to secure. Holding each stuffed crab with tongs, dip into batter. Then place into the deep fryer filled with very hot vegetable oil. Completely cover the crab and fry individually for seven minutes or until golden.

Reheating Instructions:
Hard shell crabs have been steamed with seasoning, then chilled. Refrigerate crabs immediately upon receipt. They may be enjoyed cold, at room temperature or heated.
Add:
(?)-Blue Crabs
(1)-cup vinegar
(1)-cup beer
(3)-tablespoons salt
(1/2)-cup seasoning

Place a raised rack in the bottom of a large pan (minimum of 2 inches), try not to let the crabs touch the water. Add equal quantities of water, vinegar & beer to just below level of rack. Layer crabs; sprinkle each layer with mixture of crab seasoning and salt. Cover and steam for 6-8 minutes. Although they are seasoned before they are shipped, additional seasoning will add flavor. Be careful not to steam too long as the meat will dry out. There is no appreciable loss of quality from re-steaming.

Steam live crabs for 25-30 min. using the same process. Try not to get bitten!

Ordering Steamed vs. Live Crabs:
We do our best to ensure that every crab is alive upon delivery. Normal mortality rates usually does not exceed 15%. Extra crabs are usually packed to compensate for normal mortality rates. Count live ones instead of dead ones when assessing your order. Unfortunately, we can't control the shipping environment and in rare instances mortality rates may be higher due to weather conditions or handling by the courier. We strongly recommend ordering steamed crabs to be sure that every crab is edible upon arrival.

How many crabs will you need?
If you are just serving crabs, a good rule of thumb is about 8-12 crabs per person. If you are serving other food, we estimate about a 1/2 dozen crabs per person. To put it in short, a bushel of large crabs will feed approx. 8 people. Remember, these are estimates only.