purchasing crabs

Hey,
So I have never purchased crabs in the us before, what kind of crabs are usually available in chicago and what are they priced at? i live in evanston so burhops is perfect for a lobster purchase unfortunately they did not seem to have crabs, also are crabs supposed to be eaten live like lobster?
thanks

I think crabs are far more seasonal than lobsters - lobsters seem to have a short "don't want to eat" window, US crabs seem to have a short "want to eat" window. At least, the regular crabs, not sure about the Alaskan crabs.

firefirev2 wrote:Hey,
So I have never purchased crabs in the us before, what kind of crabs are usually available in chicago and what are they priced at? i live in evanston so burhops is perfect for a lobster purchase unfortunately they did not seem to have crabs, also are crabs supposed to be eaten live like lobster?
thanks

No, I'm pretty sure you cook them first

Every now and then I see a tub of the small blue crabs on ice at Caputos in Algonquin. They had them last Friday despite the extreme cold weather. IIRC they were $3.99 a pound. I've only bought them there once, and cooked them pretty much the same as lobster, boiling them in seasoned water, although for less time since they were smaller.

I can't recall where, but once remember seeing live Dungeness crab in a lobster tank at a store somewhere.

King Crab and snow crab I typically find precooked, and frozen - ready to be steamed for a meal. I have also bought precooked and frozen Dungeness Crabs.

Live crabs(Dungeness & Blue) I have seen at Chinese markets in Chinatown and elsewhere. Also easily steamed in their live state.

I follow the same "rules" for cooking crabs as I do for lobster, I steam them with beer, garlic, and Old Bay as the steaming liquid vs. boiling. I dont like soggy/water logged crab or lobster meat.

Costco has King Crab legs, and sometimes dungeness crab .

Supreme Lobster in Villa Park has King Crab Legs.

The Chinese market in the CHinatown mall had live Dungeness Crabs on my last visit.

I've seen live blue crabs at HMart in Niles, but haven't been there in a while so can't comment on seasonality.

rickster wrote:I've seen live blue crabs at HMart in Niles, but haven't been there in a while so can't comment on seasonality.

I can't think of a time I've been to H-Mart (Oakton and Waukegan, Niles) when they don't have live Blues, and they occasionally have live Dungeness. Same at Assi Plaza (Milwaukee north of Dempster, also Niles).

Since i havent seem to have eatern either of those two crabs yet,which is the more tasty one? Also, can you tell me where in chinatown you saw these crabs, since i think there are numerous stores there, anyplace near the northshore would be perfect,

Also are crabs pretty dormant lke lobsters when you take them live, or are they aggressive?

For near the North Shore, H-Mart should be a no-brainer.

Hi,

H-Mart in Niles has live blue crabs, Dungeness crabs and lobster. They have a number of tanks of live fish, too.
H-Mart
7801 N Waukegan Rd (at Oakton)
Niles, IL
(847) 581-1212

Richwell Market keeps a smaller inventory, thus I suggest calling in advance to make sure it is there.

Richwell Market
6120 Dempster Street
Morton Grove, IL 60053-2951
Phone: (847) 929-2228

Regards,

Thanks for the help guys. I actually went to HMart a couple of weeks ago but all the tanks there seemed to be empty..Do you know why that is? It was a monday evening..Did I visit at a wrong time?

Hi,

If you went after 9 PM, the fishmongers are gone for the day. They may start cleaning up earlier, but 9 PM is the drop dead time.

Regards,

i was there at 4 pm so i dont think that was the problem,,ill just callin and confirm i guess

In rare occasions (and perhaps due to season), Chinatown will also have live King crab...

firefirev2 wrote:Since i havent seem to have eatern either of those two crabs yet,which is the more tasty one? Also, can you tell me where in chinatown you saw these crabs, since i think there are numerous stores there, anyplace near the northshore would be perfect,

Also are crabs pretty dormant lke lobsters when you take them live, or are they aggressive?

.
You can also generally find blue crabs at several of the Vietnamese groceries on Argyle. MAKE SURE that the crabs are live and moving.

Although I have never been pinched, I do not think that I would worry too much about it. Personally, I would take the blue crab over any other as I find them to be more flavorful (and I lived in the Chesapeake region).

I can't speak to the others, but a year and a half among those who take blue crabs very seriously has taught me a couple of things about them.

The season here runs late summer / early fall, but they're hard to come by these days, even locally. The Chesapeake is in bad shape. Folks here wouldn't accept anything less than steamed live, however, so the local shacks get them shipped in from Texas (the gulf coast) and, I think, to a lesser extend Florida year-round. Some insist the flavor of the gulf crabs isn't quite as good, but I'm not convinced anybody but the most seasoned crabbers could tell the difference -- and even some of those who insist they can tell don't mind so much. In short, provided they're being transported quickly, I don't think there's any reason to believe that live blue crabs in Chicago are going to be any better during any specific season. And I have to agree with jlawrence01. While I haven't eaten a ton of crab, since moving here I've been finding other breeds somewhat lacking flavorwise. The blues are a lot of work, and totally worth it.

At least around these parts, crusted with Old Bay (or similar homemade mix) and simply steamed is the way to go. No butter. Maybe some white vinegar for dipping. I'm finding it difficult to argue.

Dom,

Do you favor she-crabs over he-crabs? I have a friend who will only do she-crabs.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Do you favor she-crabs over he-crabs? I have a friend who will only do she-crabs.

You know, I've probably been out for crabs here a dozen times, but I don't believe I've sampled a female. Guess I should put that on the list for the next six months

I know some people prefer the she-crabs for the roe.

I think though they may be available for longer, they seem to be the meatiest around Sept-Oct.

If your blue crabs aren't agressive, you don't want them. I remember purchasing them for the first time in Atlanta - you didn't have to close the tongs you were given to fish them into your sack - they would attack the tongs and hold them tightly enough to be fished out, and have to be shaken off. When we got them home and dumped them in the sink, they fought each other - we didn't have a lot of sympathy for them when it came time for their nice hot bath. I find that locally they don't have quite as much spit and vinegar.

I've had success using the pre-cleaned frozen blue crab from H-Mart, seen here in my Boxing Day Cioppino, along with H-Mart's delicious shrimp:

Jay K wrote:In rare occasions (and perhaps due to season), Chinatown will also have live King crab...

Just how big is a King Crab when still alive and walking? I'm imagining a Daddy Long Legs spider 6' across. I've always wanted to see one fully functional. Perhaps from a distance

j r wrote:Just how big is a King Crab when still alive and walking? I'm imagining a Daddy Long Legs spider 6' across. I've always wanted to see one fully functional. Perhaps from a distance

I've been up close and personal.

King Crab at Sun Sui Wah in Vancouver

so There is no blue crab available at hmart now?

Almost without exception, the blue crabs that you see at Chinatown are small female crabs. When I was a kid living in Baltimore, my father and I would never keep females and would toss them back in to breed. Of course, that was a long time ago when my father and I could catch 1 1/2 bushels of crabs in a day. Now you would be lucky to get a dozen in the bay due to pollution and over-crabbing.

If you are going to buy them, MAKE SURE that they are alive and aggressively moving. Buy them in the morning and steam them as soon as possible that day. Crabs when they die spoil VERY rapidly and trust me, you don't want to eat spoiled shellfish. If you smell any sign of an ammonia smell, toss them out.

The trick that some people use to play in Baltimore was to take a sack of leftover shells and innards and place then under someone's deck or by the house. On a hot day, the smell would know you over.

so how are these crabs packaged to be taken home? also, what is a good way to ensure they are alive for the max possible time

firefirev2 wrote:so how are these crabs packaged to be taken home? also, what is a good way to ensure they are alive for the max possible time

here you go - http://www.bluecrab.info/cooking_faq.htm

H-Mart in Niles had supply problems over the Holidays and had nothing when I went on the Monday before New Years except live abalone(Good). It appears that everything is purchased on the weekend but since New Year was on a Thursday, I don't keep live seafood that long so no nothing for New Year eve except the abalone.-Dick

so i just called in superhmart and they said they have neither lobster nor crab, but might have some tomorrow, it depends on the day? clearly seemed like supply issues...which place is a good bet?

firefirev2 wrote:so i just called in superhmart and they said they have neither lobster nor crab, but might have some tomorrow, it depends on the day? clearly seemed like supply issues...which place is a good bet?

This is not a great time for blue crabs so the supply is going to be hit or miss. Personally, I am almost shocked to see that blue crabs are so widely distributed ... they were rarely seen in the Midwest a decade ago.

While this may be heresy ... many of my friends used to keep a supply of soft shell crabs in their freezer.

Oh for the days of a crab pot on the Rappahannock River. Almost makes me forget the winter that I rented that SUMMER cottage (without heat and limited running water) ...

I would bet that the majority of blue crabs seen here are NOT from U.S. waters.

leek wrote:I would bet that the majority of blue crabs seen here are NOT from U.S. waters.

The ones that I have seen have been from the Gulf Coast, not the Chesapeake.