Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tuesday at the {Summer} Table

My contribution today for Tuesday at the {Summer} Table isn't something strictly to do with summer, but it is something that we have recently been learning about and definitely something typical of the area where we live.  Crabbing!!  That said, we've lived where we do for 10yrs and have only just started now so it is definitely not something that everyone here does, but it's an awesome family activity that is actually quite relaxing.


First step, buy a $21 license, borrow a crab trap from friends, drive to the local crabbing dock, put some raw chicken in as bait (ewwww!), throw the trap and then....wait.  This activity requires a fair bit of patience.  While you're waiting you can either do this....


......or this...... (just can't wait to pull that trap up!)


You might even catch a glimpse of this (off our crabbing dock, it's pretty much guaranteed) - meet Lucy, our local mascot:


After a sufficient amount of time - usually about 1/2 hour - or until the kids can't wait any longer, you pull the trap up and see what you get!  If the crabs are too small, like these ones below, they have to go back in the water.  But if they're at least 6.5" across the body, they're yours to keep....and eat.  I think there's a limit as to how many you can take in one day, but so far we've only ever caught one in the same day that was big enough to keep, plus I don't know if we'd want to bring more than one home at a time anyways!


I'll admit, I don't love eating it and don't particularly enjoy the smell that lingers in the kitchen after boiling crab, but the rest of my family loves it so for once in awhile, it's okay.  For me, it's more about the experience than about the meal that it gives!



9 comments:

Alisa said...

That looks so fun! We see people crabbing at Crescent Beach and my kids would love to try it too.

Sew Festive said...

That's awesome! I LOOVE crab, so this would certainly be a treat for me. It is kind of weird that crabs love chicken too...

Katie B said...

This looks like a blast!

Patti said...

Does that mean Chicken Of The Sea can now be CRAB!!LOL!
I thought for sure there would be a photo of you in a lounge chair hand stitching something while you wait!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

How fun! I'm glad my watery namesake brought you luck! :)

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Looks like heaps of fun! Your boys look like they had a brilliant time.

Debbie said...

oh this looks like great fun! Sure hope you catch some big ones so you can EAT them! Thanks for linking up - perfect food & family post!

Toni said...

That looks so fun! I'm not a big fan of eating crab, but it sounds so fun I'd have to try it if we lived by the beach.

Jennifer said...

ah! this post pretty much sums up my summers! we used to have those crab pots, but then with a beach house came commercial pots (wayyy more room to catch crabs, and you can let them soak overnight) - yum! looks like a great night!