Crab Cookers

[brshooter]

I have a turkey cooker. Similar setup except I only have a 26qt stainless steel pot for frying turkeys. Don't know how may crab I could fit in it (maybe a dozen)so I have been looking at getting a bigger pot with a basket so that I could cook my crabs.
I have been paying to have my crabs cooked too. While it is convienent to just drop the crabs off to be cooked while you are taking your boat our of the water, you have no control over how they are cooked.
I would think using salt water and a bag or two of the "Old Bay Crab Boil" would be great. You could also make sure that they are not over cooked.
Any tips from anyone who is already cooking their own crabs? What do you cook them it?

[CAGEY]

I have used the "turkey cooker" for several years and it does an excellent job. Cooking in saltwater is an old wives tail. Even the commercial cookers use fresh water. A little tip i learned down Yaquina Bay way was to wrap some allspice in cheese cloth, tie it off and throw same in the pot while cooking the crabs. They are just excellent that way. Hope you try it as i know you will like it. :smile:

[WaterDog]

The turkey cookers work great for crabs I think my old mans set up is 50,000btu unit. Cooks a dozen or so in 30 minutes.

Cagey's taste buds are covered with too much powdered sugar. :rolleyes: :shocked: Cooking crabs in salt water is NOT a wives tale. :tongue: There is a difference. Lay off the jelly filled and you'll see. :wink:

[Bait O' Eggs]

I have a couple cookers, and a very big pot I got from a bankrupt restaurant. I can cook 36 crab at a time and when I have the pot full on my 30,000 BTU burner it takes about an hour to bring it to a boil. When I have it on my 100,000 BTU burner it takes about 12 to 15 minutes to bring it to a boil.

Salt in the water is a must when cooking crab, as usuall CAGEY tells us he doesnt know what he is talking about :wink: Those taste buds are damaged beyond repair from multiple daily breaks at Donut Land. :wink: :tongue:

[love2fish]

The more btu's the better. I have a 35,000 btu cooker and it takes better than an hour to boil 10 gallons of water. I also have one of those 170,000 btu burners and it will boil 10 gallons of salt water in about 15 minutes. I prefer to boil my crabs in salt water. I picked up an old army surplus 25 gallon pot at a flea market that is perfect for cooking crabs. It will handle about 15 crabs at a time.There were some good buys on turkey cookers in todays paper ($18.95 for one) for tomorrow's early bird sales, to bad I have to work. Also make sure you get one with a good solid base.

Steve

[Hookset]

Concerning the pot, buy stainless steel, not aluminum. Salt reacts to aluminum and pits the metal. Aluminum has been linked to Alezhiemers and I've been told banned in Europe for cooking.

I'd also purchase the bigger BTU burner. This has got to be like motors, lack of power is frustrating and you'll never hear anyone complain from having to much.

Enjoy shopping for your Christmas present. :wink:

Gregg

[roadsend]

Where would you go to buy a larger burner if you already have a good setup (other than the too slow burner? Salt water and a handful of pickling spices does a nice job on crab. IMHO fresh water cooked crab meat lacks sweetness.

[Pete]

Seems like every sports and home improvement store is selling "Turkey" cookers on sale right now. I've always done the lazy thing and paided to have my crabs cooked. But that means I can't cook in salt water or spice them. So I'm ready to break down and tell Santa what to get me for Christmas. What are the features I should look for. Most of these cookers seem to put out between 100,000 and 125,000 BTU and they all come with a big pot. Aluminum or steel? More BTU? Cast iron or angle iron? For under $50, it doesn't seem like I could go wrong!
http://www.theunholytrinity.org/cracks_smileys/otn/animals/profile.gif

[Seefood Man]

When I was in my younger years and lived in Maryland, near the bay. We would get Blue crabs and steam them, not boil them. This would seal in the flavor. The "Blues" are a lot smaller, so were the pots. We did ours on the stove. We would put about three inches of beer in the bottom and put about a quarter of a can of Old Bay in with. The crabs would get rinsed and covered with a thin coat of Old Bay as well. I've had them both ways, and steaming is the way to go. In the bigger pots you can put a clean brick in the center of the bottom of the pot to hold the collander out of the beer. :smile:

[CAGEY]

Waterpuppy and Scrambled Eggs, no kidding i was told by a commercial crab cooker on the coast that it makes no difference whether you use fresh or salt water, he uses only fresh water. Ive tried both ways a 100 times and i cant tell the difference. But then i dont have nearly the years of experience that you two have. Hmmm, allspice, saltwater and a dozen donuts boiled to perfection and served up with a good cold tall one. :tongue:

[Pete]

Roadsend,
Lowe's in Tigard has a 170,000 BTU "turkey" cooker advertised for $50. Maybe you could use the aluminum pot as a planter or something? :wink:

[Hamachi]

O.K. Time to create a stink. NONE of you are cooking your crabs right! Crabs should be STEAMED.
If you boil your crabs you are making CRAB STOCK.
Here's how I cook my crabs:
I use a large, stainless steel stock pot - I think it's about 3 gallons. It easily holds 6 large Dungeness. I put one of those stainless steaming trays in the bottom - you know, the thing with 3 legs and folding flower petals around the outer edge. I put about an inch or so of water in the bottom along with about a half cup of WHITE VINEGAR. Sometimes I'll put in a couple tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning, depending on what I'm going to do with the crab. Put the lid on and turn the heat on high. When the water is really boiling, put the crabs in. I put them in upside down because they stack better. Put the lid on and steam over high heat for 15 minutes. If you cook them longer it takes away the sweetness.
I guarantee if you cook your crabs this way you will be pleased. It is quick, uses much less energy, and doesn't boil any of the flavor away!

[Hamachi]

My appologies to Pete G. I overlooked his post when I read this thread. One other person knows how to cook crab!
This same method will work great in a turkey fryer. Doesn't matter how many BTU's because you're only heating an inch or so of water.

[Pilar]

Thanks Hamachi, I'll have to try 'steamed' crabs.

Here's how I do it now. Hookset is right, Mo Power, Mo better. In a 5 gallon pot, boil 2-1/2 gallons of seawater and 2 bags of Old Bay (more on these in a minute) seafood seasoning. When it boils hard, add 12 dungeness crabs, 10 if they are huge. Put a lid on it. When it boils again turn the heat down and boil for 10 minutes.

Quench the crabs in a bucket of cold seawater for 2 minutes and stir them around. This stops the cooking and helps to make the meat separate from the shell. Then dump them out and stack so they drain.

At this point, I get out of the way as about 1/2 the first batch dissapears every time.

The water can be re-used 1 time.

The seasoning bags have what smells like pickling spice in them with pepper. For about a buck apiece you can have spicy peel and eat shrimp or killer Dungeness crab. Use at least one or even two bags to a pot. Your mileage may vary.

[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: Pilar ]</p>

[Snapset]

All good info, but if you are using one of the 170 KBTU burners, make sure your bulk propane tank is at least 1/2 full. I once ran out of fuel halfway through a turkey. That bummed me out, but a kettle full of half-cooked crab would pi$$ me off.