Aug 27

Written by: Frank Davis
8/27/2010 9:40 AM 

      I've had a couple of questions in the past week concerned about  "fat" vs. "skinny" crabs.  Well, here's the scoop:

      Whether a crab is fat or not depends on a couple of factors,  including the weather, the phase of the moon (fattest at full stage), and its molting cycle. Furthermore science tells us that blue crabs are fattest in warm weather. The most important thing to remember is when a crab has just molted (gone through the softshell stage) it is usually what crabbers call an "empty" or a "clear."  That's because biologically, it can't feed while it's a softshell, so it uses up its stored up fat while it is shedding and hardening.  Now it is possible, if you're crabbing with drop nets or crab lines, to find "some" fat crabs during the winter. But traditionally you always get the fattest ones in the heat of summer.  This past Thursday when I was shooting my fishing show at Delacroix, I alternated all morning long between catching crabs and fish--one crab then one fish then one crab then one fish.  So is this a good time to go crabbing? As Justin used to say, "Hellllllllll, yeah!"
      Oh, BTW, you can actually look at raw crabs in a hamper and tell  which ones are full or fat. What you do is look for a yellowish cast on the underside of the shell and distinct, well-developed grooves in the bottom shell. That pale color is a time-proven fact that the crab is storing up fat for its next shedding. So my suggestion is. . .pass on the ones that are bluish-white and smooth.  Those are freshly molted skinny crabs. 
      So, uh,  when is the boil gonna be ready?