Crab - rule of thumb is 1 1/2 pounds per adult and 1/2 pound per kid
Shrimp - about 1/4 pound per person
Red potatoes - we went with a 5 pound bagbut just make sure there's at least one potato per person
Corn - at least one cob per person
Onion - 1 medium sweet yellow onion per gallon of water
Garlic - 5 cloves per gallon of water
Butter - 2 sticks per gallon of water
Water - enough to fill the bottom part of your steaming basket and cover the potatoes. A good rule of thumb is to check in advance how many gallons of water you're going to need so you can prepare the right amount of seasoning ingredients.
Old Bay Seasoning - as little as 3 tablespoons per gallon of water and as much as 1/2 cup per gallon depending on whether you want it spicy
optional: Sausage - figure 1 link per sausage eaterclarified butter, lemon wedges
Instructions
Make sure your crab is thawed. If you buy large amounts of crab from the grocer, it will usually come frozen. Thaw by running cool water over it for about 15 minutes.
Quarter your onions and slice or mince your garlic (I sliced mine using my very favorite garlic press). If your potatoes are very large, you can quarter them as well.
Place pot with strainer in it over the heat source (we used a propane burner). Add water (enough to cover potatoes), butter, onion, garlic, and Old Bay Seasoning. We used about 4 tablespoons of seasoning per gallon of water and it was a great mild flavor.
Cover and bring to a rolling boil (we had a 64 quart pot and about 5 gallons of water, this took 45 minutes to come up to a rolling boil).
Add potatoes and sausage, then on top of that (above the water) add corn. Cover and simmer/steam about ten minutes until potatoes are nearly cooked through.
Add shrimp, then crab. Cover and steam an additional 5 - 10 minutes until shrimp is cooked and everything is heated through.
Strain and dish onto a newspaper lined table. If you have more crab to do, let the water come back up to a simmer and dunk it for another 5 - 7 minutes, being mindful that the crab on the bottom will be submerged in the water now that you've removed the potatoes. (It will still be delicious, don't worry!)
Serve with clarified butter, lemon wedges, and extra Old Bay. ENJOY!!!
Notes
Calories are automatically generated. For best results calculate based on your exact ingredients.