Crabfest comes to Colorado Springs

You can take Richard Carson out of the East Coast, but you can't take the crab fest out of his heart.

Carson, who was transferred here from the East Coast 15 years ago when he worked for MCI, clings to his tradition of having an annual crab fest each fall. The Baltimore crab-picking tradition all starts with dozens of blue crabs being steamed, along with corn on the cob and new red potatoes. When everything is cooked it is dumped in the middle of the table, and everyone dives in. Rolls of paper towels come in handy as you pick through crab after crab.

"There were a bunch of us at MCI sitting around talking about how we missed our crab fest," Carson said. "We decided to order some crabs so we could have a big dinner."

That first year, about 10 couples got together to celebrate their New England traditions.

Bruce and Carolyn Boyce were among the MCI employees transferred here in 1993 and were part of the original crab-festgoers.

"The best part of the party each year is the crabs, of course," Bruce Boyce said.

And getting together with friends. "It's mostly the socialization that everyone enjoys," Carson said. "Get a bunch of friends together, have some beers and take your time picking the crabs. I call someone a junior picker if they only do a couple or three crabs. A senior picker will take hours to go through a bunch of crabs, getting every speck of meat."

This year's crab fest was held at his home Sept. 6 with about 75 guests. Carson ordered two bushels of blue crabs (about 6 1/2 dozen crabs in each bushel) from The Crab Place in Maryland, his favorite mail-order source.

"I've tried several other places, but I always get good, meaty crabs from this company," he said. "Every year, the crabs run a little different as far as how meaty they might be.

We did a test run earlier, and I was disappointed in the crabs, and we were thinking this might be the first year we would not do a crab fest. But we did another practice run, and they (the crabs) were much better."

Carson has learned it's best to order the crabs already steamed.

"There is less waste this way," he said. "They season and steam them and ship them for delivery the next day."

When it's party time, he fires up a turkey-frying rig with a big 5-gallon pot - but instead of filling it with oil for frying, he gently reheats the cooked crabs.

"I use a mixture of beer and water to reheat the crabs," he said. "The Crab Place sends along more of their seasoning that I add as the hot crabs are served."

When the first batch is served up, his wife, Kim, dumps pans of steamed corn and new potatoes on tables covered with butcher paper. And the fest ensues. Because it takes a long time to really get enough crab meat to feel full, Richard also smokes some ribs and grills hot dogs and hamburgers. Guest bring side dishes.

Lisa and Ray Stevens, also East Coast transplants, brought a crockpot of Boston's Union Oyster House's recipe for clam chowder. The Union Oyster House is a popular restaurant in Boston. She got the recipe from a cookbook called "Favorite Recipes of New England."

"We love coming to this party," she said, "and really look forward to seeing everyone each year."

For the hard-core crab pickers, the party will carry on until the wee hours.

"There are always a few who end up spending the night," Richard laughed, "and if there are any crabs left in the morning we'll have those for breakfast."

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Contact the writer: 636-0271 or teresa.farney@gazette.com

TO ORDER CRABS

Find the Crab Place at www.crabplace.com or call 1-877-328-2722 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. After hours, a machine will take your voice mail message. Or leave a message online by clicking the contact link on the home page.

HOT CRAB DIP RECIPE
Yield: 4 cups

1 medium jar Kraft cheez Whiz
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes bottled hot sauce 1 pound backfin crabmeat

Procedure:
1. Mix first four ingredients in double boiler, stirring occasionally, until near boiling.

2. Remove stove and add crab. Serve hot with crackers.

Source: The Crab House

EASTERN SHORE CRAB IMPERIAL
Yield: 9 (3-by-3-inch) or 6 (3-by-4.5-inch) servings

6-7 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4-1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
Dash of salt and pepper
1 pound crabmeat (preferably jumbo lump or backfin lump)
1 teaspoon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Melt 1-2 tablespoons butter and soak bread crumbs. Set aside.

2. Melt remaining butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir. Add sweetened condensed milk and all seasonings (Old Bay, salt and pepper). Continue stirring until thickened.

3. Mix together crabmeat, mustard, and mayonnaise. Fold sauce into crab mixture and pour into prepared baking dish. Top with bread crumb mixture and bake 30 minutes.

Source: The Crab House

CRAB COBB SALAD
Yield: 2 servings

6 cups romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 (6-ounce) can crabmeat, drained
1 cup diced ripe tomato or halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons cholesterol-free bacon bits
1/4 cup prepared low-sugar dressing or olive oil vinaigrette

Procedure:
1. Chill two plates.

2. Arrange lettuce on large serving platter. Arrange crabmeat, tomatoes, blue cheese, and bacon bits in rows over lettuce.

3. Right before serving, drizzle on some dressing and toss well. Transfer to the chilled plates.

Source: The Crab House

UNION OYSTER HOUSE CLAM CHOWDER
Yield: 10 servings

10 cups clam juice
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and diced
4 pounds fresh or frozen clams, shelled and diced
1/4 pound salt pork, diced
2 small onions, diced
1 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 pints half-and-half salt, to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Procedure:
1. Bring clam juice and potatoes to boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add clams and any of their liquid. Cook about 5 minutes. Set aside.

2. Add pork to a sauté pan and cook over low heat until rendered. Add onions and cook until transparent. Add butter and allow it to melt. Add flour and cook, stirring, until slightly colored. Add a bit more flour if necessary, if the mixture is too soft.

3. Bring clams, juice and potatoes back to boil. Gradually stir in the cooked roux. Bring to rolling boil to thicken. Stir continuously while cooking.

4. Beat half-and-half and add to soup. It may not be necessary to use all half-and-half; the soup should be thick. Adjust seasonings and add hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce before serving.

Source: Union Oyster House restaurant in Boston