When October rolls around, it is time to enjoy some fresh, delicious stone crab claws. People around the world anticipate the harvest season for this sweet, succulent Florida delicacy.
Stone crabs are a popular delicacy, especially in Florida where over 98% of stone crabs harvested in the United States come from. If you love indulging in these sweet, meaty claws, here’s everything you need to know about what stone crabs are all about.
An Overview of Stone Crabs
Stone crabs belong to the Menippe genus and are a type of crab found in coastal waters ranging from North Carolina to Belize. Their preferred habitats are sandy/muddy bottoms, rocky outcrops, and seagrass beds in depths from shallow shorelines to 200 feet offshore.
There are two species – the Florida stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) and the Gulf stone crab (Menippe adina). The Florida stone crab is more widely distributed and makes up the majority of the commercial stone crab fishery.
Stone crabs have large, very strong claws which they use to crush and eat shellfish like clams oysters, and mussels. Their claw strength is incredible being able to exert up to 19,000 pounds of crushing force!
Why Stone Crabs are Primarily Caught in Florida
The Florida stone crab fishery represents 99% of stone crab landings nationwide. This is because the warm, shallow waters around the Florida Keys and along the Gulf Coast provide the perfect habitat for stone crabs to thrive.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission manages the harvest of stone crabs. The limited season from October 15 to May 15 helps maintain a sustainable fishery while allowing the crabs time to regrow their claws.
So if you want the best, freshest stone crab claws – Florida is the place to go!
How Stone Crabs are Caught and Processed
Stone crab claws are harvested by carefully removing one or both claws from the live crab The body is then returned to the water where the claw will regenerate over time.
Fishermen are required to take care to remove the claws without harming the crab’s body Claws must be broken at the joint and the tissue where the claw was removed must remain intact so the crab can properly heal and close the wound.
Only claws 2 7/8″ in length or longer can be taken. Undersized and regenerated claws are left on the crab to allow further growth. Egg-bearing female crabs cannot be harvested at all.
Once the claws are removed, they are cooked right on the boat. The meat is delicate and cooking helps separate it from the shell. The claws are then iced and brought to shore for final processing.
Interesting Facts About Stone Crabs
Beyond being incredibly strong and making for tasty eating, here are some fascinating facts about these unique crustaceans:
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Stone crabs molt their outer shell to grow. During this soft shell stage, they are more vulnerable to predation. Their main predators are octopuses, horse conchs, and sea turtles.
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Female stone crabs can lay up to 1 million eggs in a single reproductive season! Their egg masses are called sponges and take on an orange to red-brown coloration.
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Males have a shorter lifespan of 7-8 years compared to 8-9 years for females. Females grow larger and invest more energy into reproduction.
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Stone crabs use their crusher claw to break open shells while they hold prey with their other claw. The crusher claw is usually the larger right claw.
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It takes around 1 year for an adult stone crab to fully regrow a severed claw. Younger crabs regenerate faster since they molt more often.
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Stone crabs are not ambidextrous – the crusher claw is almost always on the right side. The meat in the crusher claw is often more substantial as well.
The Culinary joys of Stone Crab
The reason stone crab claws are so highly desired? Their incredibly sweet, succulent meat! The texture is delicately firm, and the flavor is described as a cross between lobster and crab with briny, ocean notes.
Enjoying stone crab is simple – the cooked claws are served chilled with mustard sauce or butter for dipping. The meat is extracted by breaking open the claws with a mallet or crab cracker.
Beyond whole claws, the premium lump crab meat can also be used in a variety of appetizers, entrees, and side dishes.
So now that you know all about what makes stone crabs so special, it’s time to dig into these seasonal delights! Just be sure to get them straight from Florida during stone crab season from October 15 to May 15.
Stone Crabs Are Incredibly Strong
Stone crab claws are different sizes. They hold on to their prey with their smaller claw and break through shells with their larger crusher claw. In order to eat oysters, clams, hermit crabs, blue crabs, flatworms, mussels, and other shellfish, a stone crab’s crusher claw can put up to 19,000 pounds of force per square inch. This impressive strength is part of what makes stone crab claws so meaty and delicious.
Stone Crabs Become Soft-Shell Crabs
The culinary world refers to crabs going through a molting stage as soft-shell crabs. Stone crab, like other types of crab, shed their hard shells to continue growing. Underneath the hard outer surface is a softer inner shell. Once crabs break their outer shell, they begin making a new one immediately. Fishers catch the crabs as soon as they molt their exoskeleton to prevent this process.
Why Stone Crab Claws Are So Expensive | So Expensive
How many legs does a stone crab have?
The stone crab’s shell, or carapace, is about four inches wide and between three to 3.5 inches long. The carapace is smooth, oval, and convex. The trunk’s composed of 14 parts. The crabs have five pairs of walking legs that have distal hairs and yellow and reddish bands.
What do stone crabs eat?
Pre-juvenile and larvae stages feed on small zooplankton. Growing, they continue with opportunistic carnivore behavior but move on to larger food sources. Adult stone crabs regularly eat hard-shelled clams, small mollusks, acorn barnacles, conch, scallops, and various crustaceans. After molting, the crabs mate.
What is the average size of a stone crab?
The stone crab’s carapace is 125 to 165 mm (5 to 61⁄2 in) wide. They are brownish red with gray spots and a tan underside, and have large and unequally sized chelae (claws) with black tips.
How do I prepare stone crab claws?
The stone crab claws are fully cooked and chilled. All you need to do is crack them open and enjoy the best Florida stone crab available. If kept chilled in either a fridge or on ice in a cooler, the claws will retain their quality for three to four days after receiving them.