Rouge & Blues

K

Keith Levenberg

Keith Levenberg
I found this cool place called Ivy City Smokehouse. They make some very tasty smoked salmon sold at a couple spots around town and also have a storefront with a fish counter. The sign out front says "Wholesale to the Public." Yesterday they had live Maryland blue crabs for $1.25 each!

I am new to the crab thing. Could never really figure out the mallet. So I looked up an instructional video on YouTube. Oh! Turns out you only use the mallet for the claws. You just put them palm side up and give them a short, sharp, shock. The rest you get at with a knife and hands. Anyway, I steamed them with a heavy hit of Old Bay. Best $7.50 meal I ever had. Soooooo much better than soft-shells, which I'm starting to suspect are just a tax on people who don't want to deal with the mallet.

Drank with it: 2013 Lucien Aviet Melon a Queue Rouge. This is a new grape to me. Internet sleuthing reveals some disagreement about what, exactly, it is, either chardonnay or a relative of chardonnay. It is not, however, Melon de Bourgogne. The "Queue Rouge" is on account of the red stems. It doesn't taste at all like chardonnay. It tastes a lot like Melon de Bourgogne. Perhaps just the power of suggestion? But if in fact it was *that* Melon it would be one of the best Melons I've ever had. All the briny and quartzy minerality with more flesh and body. Just about perfect with the crabs.
 
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originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I found this cool place called Ivy City Smokehouse. They make some very tasty smoked salmon sold at a couple spots around town and also have a storefront with a fish counter. The sign out front says "Wholesale to the Public." Yesterday they had live Maryland blue crabs for $1.25 each!

I am new to the crab thing. Could never really figure out the mallet. So I looked up an instructional video on YouTube. Oh! Turns out you only use the mallet for the claws. You just put them palm side up and give them a short, sharp, shock. The rest you get at with a knife and hands. Anyway, I steamed them with a heavy hit of Old Bay. Best $7.50 meal I ever had. Soooooo much better than soft-shells, which I'm starting to suspect are just a tax on people who don't want to deal with the mallet.
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Very interesting. I assume this is in DC?

My Washingtonian used to break lobster claws with the back of a cleaver until I got him a proper nutcracker; I wonder if this is related?

I wish I had spent more time exploring the blue crabs while I had an expert. He was so obliging, he would break them down for me and pry at the small bits of flesh, but that is not teaching a woman to fish, as it were.
 
However, soft shells are so good, too. And more immediately gratifying for being able to be eaten. With crispy crust if weighted down with a cast-iron pan.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
It's a red-stemmed variety of Chardonnay. Lucien Aviet's is great—first discovered it at the Percée du Vin Jaune in 2008.
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MQR is chardonnay.

Aviet has been bottling the wine for years and years. Qu'est-ce que c'est vous direz de 2008?
 
Blue crabs are tasty but a p-i-t-a to get satisfaction from. My longest meals have usually been at a crab house.
 
Our rule of thumb is that the body of a blue crab is comparable in flavor to the claws of a Dungeness. The claws of a blue are in a league of their own. Yes, it's work to eat them, but the rewards are worth the effort. It doesn't hurt if you pulled them out of the water yourself, too.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MarkS:
Blue crabs are tasty but a p-i-t-a to get satisfaction from. My longest meals have usually been at a crab house.
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Agreed. A ton of work required and a lot of crabs needed to satisfy and then there's the burning sensation in your hands due to all the cuts and puncture wounds you acquire that get impregnated with Old Bay seasoning. Once in awhile it's fun, but it's a real labor of love, which is why I generally opt for lobster over crab since you get more meat and it's a lot easier to get at. Also, soft shells are one of my favorite foods. No fuss, no muss! Prefer them 99 times out of 100 to hardshell blues.
 
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