How To Cook Stone Crab Claws

How To Cook Stone Crab Claws

Frequently Asked Questions

How I Caught These Stone Crab Claws

While you can put out traps for Stone Crabs, I’ve always preferred the old-fashioned hand grab method. You don’t have to deal with assembling a bunch of traps, baiting them with fish heads, and setting them out only to find them empty when you finally go to pull them. I’m not saying you can’t catch a lot of Stone Crabs like that, I’m just saying I’d rather go hunt for them myself.

The picture above is from opening day of Stone Crab season a few years back. When I first moved to the Florida Keys, I didn’t have much Stone Crabbing experience, but I was eager to learn. I kept seeing them when I was out lobstering, and by the time the season opened, I had plenty of spots I knew were holding.

Should You Take One Stone Crab Claw Or Both?

A Clean Break Is Key

There’s always been a big debate on only taking one or both claws from the crab. While I only take one claw from each crab now, on one of my first outings, pictured above, I did take both claws off of 4 different crabs. In my opinion, the most important thing is that you get a clean break on the claw! This will allow the crab to regenerate the claw and not bleed out.

The Easiest Way To Remove A Stone Crab Claw

One of the easiest methods to do this is to insert your knife into the first joint closest to the claw and wiggle it around until the crab releases the claw. If you do this you will always get a clean break and the crab will have a better chance of survival.

Tips For Cooking Stone Crab Claws

1. Don’t Ice Them Until They Are Cooked!

Once you have harvested your claws, you want to make sure you don’t put them on ice until after they are cooked! If I am out lobstering, I usually just stick them in the lobster bag, or if I’m on a boat, I will put them in the live well with some water. In my experience, the sooner you cook them the less likely the meat is to stick to the shell.

2. 10-12 Minutes Is All You Need

I usually add a bit of vinegar to aid in the meat not sticking to the shell, it doesn’t have to be a crazy amount, I usually just do a small splash. In the recipe below I recommend boiling the claws for about 10-12 minutes depending on how big your claws are and how many you have.

3. Give Them An Ice Bath

The most important step in this whole process is submerging the claws in an ice bath as soon as they come out to stop the cooking process!

Serving The Stone Crab Claws

What Sauces Are Best For Stone Crab?

Once you have your claws cooked and they are submerged in your ice bath, you’ll want to start setting up your serving platter. For this particular batch of claws, I put some arugula down with some ice on top. I also prepared 3 sauces: a Florida Stone Crab Sauce, a Cocktail Sauce, and a Horseradish Sauce.

How To Crack Stone Crab Claws

The final part of this recipe is breaking the shells of your claws so that you can actually get the meat out! You’re not going to need the classic crab crackers for this job, all you need is a big spoon! I usually like to start from the claw and work my way down to the base of the claw. Hold the claw in the palm of your hand and hold the spoon up a little higher than you may think to get more leverage. Let the spoon do the work!

My biggest recommendation is to be quick, and to make sure any bits of shell that come off get set aside and don’t end up in the meat! There shells are like concrete and can easily crack a tooth! I hope you enjoy this tutorial on how to cook your Stone Crab claws.