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With a name like that it hardly sounds like something that one would go out of their way to find. But, ask anyone who has been treated to a heap of their claws and you will find a devoted shell-fish nut. Because they are sooo good there are special laws just for the harvesting of stone crabs.
In Florida, the legal season is from October 15 to May 15. During that time a "crabber" runs his wire and wood-slatted traps baited with chicken necks (Carolinas), fish heads or ripe cowhides (Florida), pigs feet (Texas) or what ever can be found that is cheap, will hold together under water for a period of time and perhaps has an appealing smell (to the crab) and the crabber harvest the crabs daily, during daylight hours plus or minus thirty minutes or so (This is important to the regulatory agencies but not to the crabs). When the trap is brought out of the bay, coastal or off-shore waters, the crab or crabs inside, if of a suitable size, is/are removed from the trap and one claw is torn away and the critter is tossed back into the briny shallows. He (or she) will quickly grow another and go about his/her business of being a crab. If both claws are removed, the crab will be defenseless and may fall prey to some other fish or fowl, however, this is one of the prices paid in Nature as when two stone crabs battle, one or the other often times loses both claws. .
It's good to remember that crabs go through a seasonal molt and cast off their shells only to grow a new one. Without this feature, they would be "shell-bound" and unable to grow. And losing a claw is just one of the hazards of being a crab, regardless if it's to man or some other of God's creatures. Perhaps Man is just participating in the regeneration process.
After the crab claws are harvested, (some state specify only left handed crabs are to remain once the right hand claw is removed, while others simply rule that the larger claw may be removed provided it is about three inches long) the crab is tossed back in to the waters. Once back in the boat's home port, the crabs are cooked by boiling or steaming as soon as possible, then stored on ice or perhaps frozen. The bright orange and black claws seen in the market may have been harvested months ago. (Contrary to what is written in Florida about where crabs are to be found, Mexico is a major supplier of crab claws and other states with warm coastal waters harvest them as well.)
The meat is sweet and firm not unlike lobster and once you have sampled it you may never go back to lobster.
A good description of one approach to crabbing which is decidedly a commercial venture, is Joe's, (web address: joesstonecrab.com) a Miami area restaurant that specializes in stone crabs. They will FedEx you a mess of them for about sixty dollars per person. the crabs are guaranteed to arrive ready for eating as soon as you warm them (they're shipped on dry ice (carbon dioxide)!
Be prepared to enjoy another of the South's delights. The sites listed in the heading will lead you to other foods to tempt man?s resolve to stay on a diet.
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