History
Steaming whole crabs in seasoned salt is the oldest way Baltimore eats its Chesapeake catch, a working-waterman tradition that became the city's defining summer feast. Crabs are graded by size and sold by the dozen, steamed to order and piled high. The communal table, the mallets, the cold beer and the slow, messy work of picking are the whole point, and crab houses around the harbour and out on the water have run the ritual for generations.
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Common allergens: Shellfish
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1 dozen live blue crabs
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar or beer
- Half a cup Old Bay or J.O. seasoning, plus more for layering
- Quarter cup coarse salt
- A large steamer pot with a rack
Method
- Pour the water and vinegar or beer into the pot, keeping the liquid below the rack.
- Bring to a hard boil, then layer the live crabs on the rack, dusting each layer heavily with Old Bay and salt.
- Cover and steam for 20 to 30 minutes, until the shells turn bright orange-red.
- Tip the crabs onto a brown-paper-covered table and let them cool enough to handle.
- Crack with a mallet and knife, working from the legs and back fin into the body.
Tip from the editors. Keep the crabs alive until they go in the pot, and never let the steaming liquid touch them; the seasoning should cling to the shell, not boil off.
Where to eat steamed blue crabs
Steamed blue crabs in Baltimore
LP Steamers ★ 4.4
LP Steamers in Locust Point is a classic two-storey crab house, steaming blue crabs heavy with Old Bay and serving a rooftop deck above Fort Avenue.
OrderA dozen heavy steamed crabs and a pitcher, eaten with mallets on the deck.
TipThe rooftop deck is the seat to ask for; bring cash and patience in peak crab season.
Mama's on the Half Shell ★ 4.2
Mama's on the Half Shell on Canton Square is a neighbourhood crab-and-oyster house, working steamed crabs, oysters and a crab cake across two busy floors.
OrderA dozen steamed crabs in season, or the crab cake the rest of the year.
TipWeekend afternoons overflow with locals; ask for a seat upstairs or out on the patio.
Faidley's Seafood ★ 4.7
Faidley's stand inside Lexington Market serves the city's benchmark crab cake since 1886, almost all jumbo lump, eaten standing at a counter off brown paper.
TryJumbo lump crab cake
TipOrder the all-lump grade and eat it at the stand-up rail; it also fries a classic lake trout.
More cities are in research. Want steamed blue crabs covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.