Best of the Bay Recipes...She Crab Soup

The Chesapeake Bay area is famous for its wealth of seafood: Crab Cakes, Oyster Stew, Steamed Crabs and much more. These culinary favorites are steeped in tradition and prepared with intense pride. The locals are perhaps best known for their culinary love affair with the famous Blue Crab -- and this traditional and delicious She Crab Soup is made from the sweet, delicate meat of the She Crab. A bit of roe adds richness and flavor. Its elegant bisque-like creaminess will delight your senses.

12 Female Crabs, all the meat picked plus
Orange Roe
8 tablespoons butter
1 small onion finely diced
2 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons flour
12 cups fish stock (a flavorful vegetable or chicken stock may be substituted for the fish stock if necessary)
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 dash Tabasco Sauce (optional)
½ cup dry sherry
1 lemon freshly squeezed

Purchase one dozen female crabs already steamed or buy them live and steam them yourself. Pick the crabs for all their meat and reserve the orange roe. In a sauté pan, melt 4 tablespoons butter and sauté the onion and shallots until just tender.

Whisk in the flour and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes while stirring, taking care not to brown the flour mixture. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and stock. Add in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco (if using). Cook on medium until the soup thickens, about 15 – 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

While you are thickening the soup, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan and toss the crabmeat and roe until heated through, 3-4 minutes. Once the soup has thickened add the crabmeat mixture and stir. Add the sherry and lemon juice and simmer for several minutes until heated through and you are ready to serve!

The wonderful recipes and culinary traditions of the Bay area have been influenced by history dating back hundreds of years. It was 1607 when Captain John Smith first saw the Chesapeake Bay at what was to become Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English Settlement. From the writings in his journal it is clear that these early settlers quickly recognized that they had landed in a paradise of riches. Smith quipped in his journal that the fish were so plentiful that they would simply catch them “with our frying pans.” The Bay was abundant with crabs, clams, oysters and fish -- and the surrounding areas alive with wildlife.

But these early settlers were not the first to revel in its bounty. The Powhatans had long inhabited its shores, naming it “Tschiswapeki” or the “Great Shellfish Bay.” The Native American women produced plentiful crops of corn, squash and beans and archeological digs of native villages discovered large quantities of shells revealing the Powhatan’s love of oysters, clams and other shellfish. From this history the Chesapeake Bay area’s cuisine has evolved and today we enjoy its bounty with traditional recipes such as this. Serve your She Crab Soup with a light salad of mixed greens and French bread and enjoy!