Maryland Crab Soup

It’s been a rough few weeks for me.  I have to certain degrees been reliving the events post 7/30.  One for an interview, one for tax credit application, one for just torment, it seems.  The logical part of my brain knows we are going forward, we aren’t going back.  The logical part of me knows that we survived, we rebounded, and the town is doing the same.  The not-so-logical-can’t-control-these-depths-of-despair emotions is just not in the “healthy place,” but somehow those same emotions know they aren’t staying around for long.  So I took a few days to wallow, had a panic attack, and got back in the kitchen.  (This is a really great way to start this recipe off, but stay with me.)  Sometimes what’s best for me, is to turn the music on as loud as I can stand and just chop vegetables.  There is precision , there is an element of concentration, there is simple release.   Oh, the really awesome part, at the end, the ultimate comfort food.  Told you to stay with me.

Need a little extra therapy? Comfort food for the soul?  Grab this mix.

And don’t discount this part of your celery because these leaves can take soup to the next level.

A sharp knife, a large cutting board, tucked fingers and thumb and you get mirepoix.

Now grab that largest pot you have.  I use a 12 quart pot.  If you don’t have a pot that big, don’t fret, you can divide this recipe between two pots.  Asking why you can’t just divide the recipe in half or quarters?  Well, this is the smallest batch I have made successfully, full of flavor and texture.  When I go smaller, I don’t get the same result.  Plus, make once, enjoy many times over because this soup freezes beautifully.

In the large pot, add the mirepoix.

Top that with cubed chuck roast.

Add salt, pepper, and just cover with water.

Cover with a lid, and cook on high for 20 minutes.  Guess what? You just made beef stock.

While you are awaiting the stock to come up to boil, cube some potatoes, and ham steak.

Open up your ridiculous amount of cans of diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and San Marzano tomatoes.  I definitely didn’t capture this.  This was just the moment soccer in the backyard was ending.

At this point, the stock has come to a boil.  You are going to add all the cans, the ham, potatoes, bay leaves, dried parsley, and Old Bay.

Here is the easiest, fastest way to measure the spices:

Adding salt and pepper too, and it looks like this:

I realize the big spoon measurement doesn’t help you, so I went back later and measured it out.  Don’t panic.  ?

Bring the soup back to a boil for about ten to twenty minutes.  Listen, you may be having a dance party, reading an extra chapter in book, switching a load of laundry, playing nurse to scarp knees.  This part isn’t rocket science, you are just cooking the potatoes to be fork tender.

There is so much to love about this recipe and a big one for me is it is chock full of veggies.  Add in one pound bags of peas, green beans, and corn.  And more Old Bay and parsley.

This amateur picture doesn’t do this soup justice.  For those paying attention, you just added a bunch of frozen veggies to boiling soup.  Boiling no more. Return the soup to a boil, TASTE IT, you may want more spice, notice it needs more pepper, or parsley.  Trust your instincts.  I will say this, you won’t need more salt.  At this point, it’s been added several times, and Old Bay has salt in it.  One thing you can’t walk back is salt, that’s what I am getting at.  Once your spice is on point, turn the heat down to simmer for an hour or so.

After the hour, add the crab meat.  You can stir and serve.  I recommend waiting until day two because it’s that much better in flavor.

Some of you are asking where are the claws?  Well, it’s true, most recipes call for them, so let’s talk about that for a minute.  In the summer, when you are picking your steam crabs, steal away a half dozen to reserve for soup making.  When you finished enjoying the Bay’s finest, pop the top shell off, scrape out the lungs and break the crab in half.  Put the crabs into a ziplock bag and they can be frozen until you are ready to make soup.  When making the soup, add the crabs at the same time as the frozen veggies, but wait until the soup returns to a boil to see if you need to add Old Bay.  The crabs were likely steamed in Old Bay, so don’t rinse them.  As it is March, no crab claws around just yet.  Truth be told, I prefer the soup with out them.  I want to dig in, but don’t really want to pick the crab too.  That’s just me.

At this point, it’s dinner time, homework time, shower time, bed time.  I had long turned the heat off on the soup, but was letting it cool before I divided it up in ziplocks for freezing and tupperware for reheating.  As I mentioned before, this soup is great for freezing.

This will keep for six months in the freezer.

After all that soup making, sneak in a bowl.

Pair it with grilled cheese, cold cuts, chips and onion dip, or in this case a small cheese plate.

I got to thinking, as I was measuring the spices from the spoon to give a more accurate recipe, about the pre-7/30 menu that had this soup on it at the restaurant.  Chef had asked me after me offering many, many, many, menu suggestions if we could put this soup on the menu.  After ten years, people.  IT’S A BIG DEAL.  And in truth, it was a next level honor because while this is a recipe known in these parts, this is my recipe.  Chef had me make the soup in 25 gallon batches.  Yes, 25 gallons.  One day I will share a comparison of two and half gallons to twenty five gallons, but for now, I give you this.  Aren’t you happy I didn’t suggest this size pot and spoon?

Moving forward.