She Crab Soup?

[StingRayLou]

Does anybody know the recipe for she crab soup. Had it at a resturant once and have been dying to know the recipe.
Thanks.

[Billfish]

Maryland She-Crab Soup
This recipe is from Time-Life Foods of the World volume American Cooking: Southern Style

4 quarts water
2T. plus 1 1/2t. salt
12 live blue she crabs, each about 4" wide and weighing about 1/2 lb.
4T. butter
1T. flour
2c. milk
2c. heavy cream
1 1/2 t. finely grated onion
1t. finely grated fresh lemon peel
1/2 t. ground mace
1/2t. ground white pepper
3T. pale dry sherry
1T. finely chopped fresh parsley
Bring 4 quarts water and 2 T. of salt to a boil in a 8-10 quart pot. Drop in the crabs and return the water to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes. Drain the crabs, then clean and shell them. Set the meat and roe aside.
In a heavy 3-4 quart saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the flour and mix well. Stirring the mixture constantly with a wire whisk, pour in the milk and cream in a slow thin stream and cook over high heat until the sauce comes to a boil, thickens slightly and is smooth.

Stir in the crabmeat and the crab roe, plus all remaining ingredients except sherry and parsley. Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes. Stir in the sherry, taste for seasoning, and pour the soup into a heated tureen or individual soup bowls. Sprinkle the top with parsley and serve at once. Hope you enjoy this old Southern dish.

[StingRayLou]

Thanks:D

[jay b]

That must be an old recipe, 4" wide crabs ?? Those are culls because of size, at least here in Virginia and N.C. Must of been before the time of regulations. I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the minimum size limit is 5" tip to tip. Might help if you catch your own and the "Man" pays you a visit.

[Anthony]

Actually I'm pretty sure you can keep any size female as long as it's mature. You can tell by looking at the apron.

[Duke of Fluke]

she crabs are juvenile females, legal even at that small size. if you can't catch them you can buy them dirt cheap. I got two dozen for about 12 bucks last may and made a big pot.