IT'S TIME FOR CRABS!

O yes Baltimore, the time has come.

Time to break out the newspapers, mallets, and beers. Time to crack those legs and get moving towards your favorite crab shack in town. Time to snap open your wallets and count those nickels and dimes for an order of a dozen of your favorite sea creature. (or one BUSHEL, if you're really hungry). Time to dig deep through the guts, the mush, the dead man, and mustard, and find the hidden treasure that reminds you every time of why you risk the smell of your hands to have this one thing when summer hits:

CRABS!!!










Everyone knows that Baltimore is notorious for it's wonderful crab addiction. So if you plan to visit this the city known for getting it's fix from the bay, or if you are already conveniently located here for the summer, here are a few tips that I found from the website of one Baltimore's most superb crab shacks, O'brycki's (and a few comments of my own in bold):

1. Break off the claws. (good for soup!)
   
2. Lift apron and grip shell. (there's a name for that sharp thing in the middle?!)
3. Peel off shell. (here comes the good part!!!)
4. Clean out "mustard" (yellow fat which can be eaten) and "devil" (cellulose-like gills, don't eat. (Contrary to popular belief, you will not die if you eat the dead-man (or devil). However, the yellow fat (or mustard) is the devil...don't eat it, it's GROSS!!)

You can find more of O'brycki's instructions here. Warning: they get a little proper towards the end. My edited version: dig those fingers in that shell and FEAST!!!



I also found this fun video of a Marylander who has their own special way of eating crabs. ENJOY!!!