Whole blue crabs steamed under a heavy coat of Old Bay or J.O. seasoning, dumped on a brown-paper table and cracked open with wooden mallets. The crab feast is a Baltimore summer ritual as much as a meal.

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.

Where to eat Steamed blue crabs in Baltimore

3 editor picks for Steamed blue crabs in Baltimore, ranked by editorial score. All Baltimore signature dishes · Steamed blue crabs across every city.

  • Faidley's Seafood

    Order The jumbo lump crab cake, broiled, almost all crab and no filler.

    Faidley's Seafood at Lexington Market has sold its jumbo lump crab cake since 1886, a stand-up counter where you eat the city's benchmark cake off paper.

    DetailsDirections

  • LP Steamers

    Order A dozen heavy steamed crabs and a pitcher, eaten with mallets on the deck.

    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.

    DetailsDirections

  • Mama's on the Half Shell

    Order A dozen steamed crabs in season, or the crab cake the rest of the year.

    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.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 445 minIntermediate

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

  1. Pour the water and vinegar or beer into the pot, keeping the liquid below the rack.
  2. Bring to a hard boil, then layer the live crabs on the rack, dusting each layer heavily with Old Bay and salt.
  3. Cover and steam for 20 to 30 minutes, until the shells turn bright orange-red.
  4. Tip the crabs onto a brown-paper-covered table and let them cool enough to handle.
  5. Crack with a mallet and knife, working from the legs and back fin into the body.

Editor tip. 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.

Common allergens: Shellfish.