Crabs
Blue crabs play an important part in culinary traditions and economies across the Mid-Atlantic. You may have gone crabbing yourself, from a boat or a dock, and you have almost definitely seen crabs for sale by the dozen or the bushel around Delaware. Either way, these tasty crustaceans are a mainstay in the summer months, particularly late summer.
Ted Deptula, Director of Culinary Operations at Crooked Hammock Brewery, has his own experience growing up with crabs, one that might sound similar to many Delawareans:
I grew up fishing and crabbing on the Indian Bay River with my grandparents. My grandmother taught me how to pick my own crabs and no child was allowed to eat crabs if they weren't willing to pick 'em themselves. My family is from Wilmington and our tradition stems from a former Wilmington institution in Littly Italy called DiNardo's. DiNardo's was known for giant crabs served with a unique dipping sauce. My grandmother was lucky enough to snag the recipe before they closed and we have eaten blue crabs with it eversince. My grandmother makes this sauce by the gallon and it lasts several crab feasts with all the family. We will sit out on a screened in porch picking crabs for hours. We will also have corn on the cob, hot dogs for the kids and ice cold beer. The next day any leftover crabs are picked and the meat is saved for crab dip.
See Deptula’s recipe for a tasty crab sauce below. To learn about the blue crab life cycle, visit Under the Scope, a website built for educators and their students to learn more about zooplankton.
Crab Sauce
Yields 1 gallon of sauce.
Ingredients
1 pinch dry oregano
1 cup sugar
1 quart cider vinegar
1 small bottle hot sauce
4 oz. beer
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon MSG
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 oz. chili powder
Water to fill to a gallon
Grab an empty gallon size jug. Add all the ingredients into the jug but only half the water. Put the cap on the jug and shake it up to mix together. Add the rest of the water and mix some more. Pour the contents out into a large pot and bring to a boil, turn the heat down and let simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. My grandmother usually stores the sauce in reused jars in the fridge and it lasts for months if you're comfortable with that sort of thing. No need to heat up, we always serve it cold. Just dip your crab meat in and enjoy. My dad likes to pick an entire crab and soak the meat in the sauce then eat it all together. I like to dip and eat it as I go. We save the butter for the corn.