This is a soup from the area that I grew up in. The blue crabs from the Chesapeake are abundant during the late summer/fall and even into the early winter. For this particular version I used claw (back-fin works as well) for the majority of it, and finished it with lump meat for added crab flavor.
When I made this soup at Capital Crab and The Avenue I prepared the soup without crab meat to ensure a longer shelf life. Instead I used a crab base that I had on hand and added a ton of crab meat on pick up. You can also vary the vegetables used in the soup, but you will want to include the base of tomatoes with carrots, onions, celery, corn, potatoes and lima beans. I also blanched the potatoes and the green beans separately to ensure the potatoes keep their texture. When I serve this soup, I cut the green beans per portion and I heat them up in the soup. If you put the green vegetables in too early, they won't stay crunchy, and they will become an off-shade of green.
I made this soup on a fairly chilly day outside and I bought a sourdough bread bouille to serve it in. While it is an awesome meal like that, the soup aspect gets absorbed into the bread and it thickens up quite a bit. So serve it in a bread bowl if you would like, though it is optional.
Ingredients
Crab Meat, Back-fin/Claw 1 lb
Crab Meat, Lump 1/2 lb
Onion, large, diced 1 ea
Potatoes, Yukon or Redskin, diced 4 ea
Celery, diced 4 ea
Carrots, diced 3 ea
Tomatoes, diced in can 28 oz
Beef Stock 1 qt
Chicken Stock 1 qt
Water 1 qt
Corn, off the cob, or cut in rounds 3 ea
Green Beans 1/2 lb
Lima Beans, frozen 1 cup
Old Bay 2 T (more for garnish)
Bay Leaves 4 ea
Oregano, fresh 1 oz
Thyme, fresh, picked 1 oz
Crushed Red Pepper 1 tsp
Celery Seed 1 tsp
Lemon, zest and juice 1 ea
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish
Old Bay, Lump crab meat
Method of Procedure
In your soup pot, saute your onions with 2 T of old bay, celery seed, and your crushed red pepper until softened, about 15 minutes.
Drain your diced tomatoes while retaining the tomato juice. If you are using stewed whole tomatoes dice them now and keep any of the juice. Add the tomatoes and the crab meat to the onions and continue to cook while stirring.
Either take your corn off the cob, reserving the cob for the soup, or cut the corn accordingly. Add to your base.
Put in your diced carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and oregano.
Add your beef stock, chicken stock, tomato juice, and water then bring to a boil (if you cut the corn off the cob, add the cobs to the soup base now) then reduce to a simmer.
Put in your lima beans and simmer for 1-2 hours.
Bring a separate pot of salt water to a boil and blanch off your green beans, then shock them. Using the same water add your diced potatoes and blanch for 5 minutes until tender but firm.
Taste your soup and add more salt, pepper, or old bay to taste. If you want it spicy you can add a couple splashes of Tabasco or any other hot sauce you favor.
Add your blanched potatoes.
To serve, cut up some of your cooked green beans and add to your soup to serve. Add a handful of lump meat and serve. Garnish with Old Bay and enjoy.
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