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Home/New Orleans/Boiled Crabs
platter stacked with red colored boiled crabs

Boiled Crabs

One of the seafood favorites of south Louisiana is boiled blue crabs. But have you ever wondered if there is an easier way to cook and peel them. Here’s how the pros do it on the Louisiana bayou.

fishing camps along a bayou reflection in the still water under blue sky
Crabbing near Grandpaw Bayou in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

crabbing on the bayou

From his fishing camp and lodge along Grandpaw Bayou in lower Plaquemines Parish, Watson Perrin doesn’t have to go far to get fresh crabs. His crab traps, tied to floating balls, line the nearby waterways. Perrin has been crabbing these waters since he was a child. He’s been a commercial crabber for the past decade, and hosts guests at his bayou side lodge for fishing and crabbing at what he calls Da Bayou Experience.

crabs being emptied from a red metal trap onboard a small boat
Catching crabs in the nearby bay.

Perrin’s small commercial crabbing boat is equipped with a metal rake that he lowers into the shallow water when he approaches a crab trap. The rake catches the ball float, and an assistant pulls in the trap and empties it while Perrin steers his boat toward the next trap. The process is quick, and after a short time on the water, we have basket of crabs. Perrin’s dog named Jacamo helps out if one of the ball floats gets stuck in the rake. “Over time he’s watched me go up to the front of the boat and knock the ball out,” Perrin says. “Now he does it for me.”

brown dog looks over side of crab boat at trap
Crab dog Jacamo ready to help with crabbing.

time for boiled crabs

After returning to Da Bayou Experience lodge, Perrin begins adding crab boil seasoning to a large metal pot. He sorts through the basket of crabs making sure all of today’s catch are still alive. Perrin ignores the standard directions for bringing the seasoned water to a boil, then adding the crabs, and letting them soak for another half hour after they are boiled. He reverses that process. The crabs go into the pot of seasoned water before it’s heated. That way, “the crabs season themselves,” he explains. “They’ll breath all that seasoning and water throughout their system.” Then the pot goes on top of a burner and within 20 minutes, the crabs are boiling. After five minutes of boiling, the burned is turned off and the boiled crabs are ready for eating.

tips for peeling boiled crabs

Carmalita Sylve grew up on Grand Bayou in lower Plaquemines Parish and is the cook for guests at Da Bayou Experience. She has been peeling crabs since she was a child and offers a step-by-step method for getting all of the meat out of boiled crabs in less than two minutes.

Carmalita Sylve show how to get all the meat out of a boiled crab.

Peeling & eating boiled crabs the fast way

Watson Perrin has his own style of peeling boiled crabs. He calls it the “NASCAR way”. He doesn’t waste time cleaning or peeling the crabs. Perrin pulls out the legs full of meat and eats while he peels.

Watson Perrin shows his quick method for peeling and eating crabs.

crabbing on the bayou featured on tv

Watch this Heart of Louisiana story on crabbing on a Louisiana bayou.

getting there

Da Bayou Experience is located at 939 Grandpaw Bayou Way in Port Sulphur, LA. The lodge is only accessible by boat. For more information, contact Captain Watson Perrin at (504) 715-2830. Click here for Da Bayou Experience website.

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        Written by:
        Dave McNamara
        Published on:
        October 15, 2024
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        Categories: Featured, New Orleans

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