Wild-caught stone crab claws are from right here in the Florida Keys. The iconic dish, Stone Crabs with Mustard Sauce, is available in almost restaurant in the Keys, in season, which runs from October through May. The tender succulent crab claws are a real treat and one of the most delicious foods you will ever eat!
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How to Eat Stone Crab Claws
Stone crabs are steamed immediately after harvesting and they are graded by size: Colossal, Jumbo, Large, and Medium.
Eating the crabs is a real culinary delight and something I look forward to every year.
The claws are cracked just before serving in the restaurants. When purchasing stone crabs at the fish store, the fishmonger will crack them for you. Just bring them home, refrigerate, and enjoy them within 24 hours.
How Do I Crack Stone Crabs at Home?
When you buy stone crabs at your fish market, the claws are already cooked for you. You can bring them home uncracked and crack them open with a stone crab cracker, nutcrackers, a stone crab mallet, or a big knife.
To use a big knife, place the flat side of a chef's knife on the flat side of the claw and press down a few times as if you are smashing a clove of garlic.
If you're buying them fresh, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate them in the back of the fridge. Consume them within 24 hours for maximum flavor.
You can pick up a stone crab cracker, a lightweight aluminum device, when you pick up your stone crabs at Key Largo Fisheries.
This is an appliance that will crack the crabs with ease. Place the crab in the device, as shown, and lightly press down on the joints. The shells will slip right off.
How Big are The Crabs?
When harvested from their traps on the ocean floor, the claws are pulled from crabs that measure at least 2 ¾ inches long, and their bodies are thrown back into the warm water to regenerate (it takes 18-24 months to grow back) and maintain their populations.
Where Can I Get Stone Crabs Shipped To Me?
You can purchase frozen stone crab claws with mustard sauce online from The Key Largo Fisheries in Key Largo. They will arrive in one day packed on dry ice. Of course, you can also come to the Keys, which is definitely a better idea!
The succulent meat is a real delicacy. One and a half pounds should generously feed two adults.
Are They Expensive?
According to Business Insider, stone crabs are one of the most expensive kinds of seafood you can buy. At $30 per pound for medium claws and up to $95.00 for colossal claws, the price of stone crab claws has been steadily climbing over the years.
What Size Claws Should I Buy?
They all Taste Great! Buy the ones you can afford. Your meal can get very expensive if you insist on the Jumbo or Colossal size claws and the taste, to me, is barely different from Medium to Jumbo.
Nutrition in Stone Crabs
Fortunately, Stone Crabs are low calorie, low carb, gluten-free, keto, paleo, and Kaufmann diet compliant.
With 31 calories and 6 grams of protein, steamed stone crabs is the meal of champions. Skip the mustard sauce and enjoy your crab claws with melted butter and a squeeze of lemon.
With a little cauliflower rice on the side, and you have a perfect low-carb meal!
- Calories: 31
- Total Fat: .4g
- Cholesterol: 21.5 mg
- Sodium: 107 mg
- Total Carb .3g
- Sugar: 0
- Protein: 6.3g
FAQ
Yes, stone crabs are wild. They are harvested on the east coast of the United States from Connecticut to the Florida Keys.
Stone crabs are caught in traps and only one claw is removed and they are returned to the wild to regrow the claw.
Florida Stone Crab season runs from October to May every year.
Stone crabs are traditionally served with mustard sauce. Mustard sauce is made by combining mayonnaise, Dijon or dried mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, or some other variation of that.
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