Steamed Blue Crabs

This blue crab recipe uses a steaming pot of beer, vinegar, salt, and Old Bay to cook Atlantic crabs served on newspapers to make cleanup a breeze.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Calories: 183 Calories

Ingredients

• 3 cups distilled white vinegar
• 36 live blue crabs
• 3 cups beer
• 0.5 cup salt
• 0.75 cup seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay®), divided

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Combine beer, vinegar, 1/2 cup seafood seasoning, and salt in a large stockpot over high heat. Bring to a strong simmer.

Step 2

Fit a screen over simmering beer mixture and layer crabs on the screen.

Step 3

Cover and steam crabs until they turn bright orange and no blue-green color remains, 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup seafood seasoning before serving.

Step 4

Right before cooking, carefully place each crab upside-down and stick a knife through the shell, just behind the mouth.