Going WILD

Whenever I ask local chefs what makes their food so delicious, most are quick to defer credit to the hard work and passion of our local farmers and fishermen. Food that binds a community starts with local purveyors.
On a recent trip to the Gay Fish Company on St. Helena Island, I found stone crab harvested fresh from our waterways around Lady's Island. Located on Highway 21 as you head east towards Fripp Island, this is a great place to buy fresh seafood. If you happen to time it right, you can watch the trawlers come in with your dinner.
Charlie Gay, owner and operator, knows these islands and waterways intimately, and is the second generation to own the fish company.  "Just snap off a claw and toss the crab back into the water-no time at all 'till it grows another claw. Now that's sustainable seafood."
These stone crabs are a beautiful delicacy, available the year round, not to be missed. Best of all-they're really quite simple to prepare. Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant in Miami Beach helped popularize stone crab claws.  There, they are served with either a sweet honey-mustard or drawn butter. Here's how it's done.

Steamed Stone Crab Claws
Serves 4
Stone crab claws, the only part of the shellfish that's eaten, are usually served chilled, but they're still quite tasty when steamed and eaten with a little melted butter or with Joe's Stone Crab Mustard Sauce.

Ω stick butter
32 large stone crab claws, chilled
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Place uncracked claws into a steamer basket and set over a steamer pot of boiling water.  Cover and steam until heated through, about 5 minutes.
In the meantime, melt butter in a small pan, but watch it closely, being careful not to brown it. Remove from heat and transfer to a small serving bowl.

Take claws from the steamer, crack the shells and serve with melted butter and lemon wedges or with Joe's Stone Crab Mustard Sauce. Give each person a mallet for cracking the shells and a small slender fork for removing meat from the shell.

Joe's Stone Crab Mustard Sauce
A fabulous sauce for all kinds of fish!

1 Tbsp Dry mustard powder
1 cup Mayonnaise
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Steak sauce, like A1
º cup Half & half
Sea salt to taste

Whisk together dry mustard, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, half & half and salt until smooth and combined.
Chill for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.  Serve with crab claws.

A One-Pot Lowcountry Feast
Fill up the propane tank and lay the newspapers thick, it's time for a down home delicious Frogmore Stew-another way to incorporate stone crab into your menu.

Also known as Lowcountry Boil, this stew gets everyone into a celebratory mood. It's great for commemorating all sorts of rites of passage, such as birthdays, holidays, and graduations.
The setting needs to be casual, and like an oyster roast or crawfish boil, the stew is served outside on newspaper-lined tables with plenty of paper towels, lots of beer and wine, and plenty of what I can only describe as uninhibited joy.

One of the best experiences I have ever had was a Lowcountry Boil held on the banks of a creek in the marshy land outside Beaufort. The sky was dark and the wind was blowing strong; we had to keep close to the fire and fight to keep warm. The stew was poured onto the table and everyone around me, without the least bit of timidity, attacked the pile. It was on that day that I came to understand the Lowcountry, a place where the greatest meal I ever ate was tossed onto a rickety plywood table in the best culinary tradition.

Somewhere between Beaufort and Fripp Island there was a little community named Frogmore, which no longer exists. Local historians believe that the recipe was named for the town and was the invention of local shrimpers who used whatever food items they had on hand to make a stew. Richard Gay of Gay Fish Company tells the story about how he invented the stew while on National Guard duty in Beaufort in the 1960's. He later printed out copies and made them available at his seafood market. And that's how it all began.

Frogmore Stew  
Yields: 8 servings
1 Ω gallons water
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
3 Tbsps Old Bay Seasoning
2 pounds Kielbasa sausage, cut into Ω-inch slices
10 to 12 ears Corn on the cob, broken into 3-inch pieces
4 lbs Shrimp, in the shell
4 lbs Stone crab (usually pre-cooked)
Onions and small red potatoes are optional

In a large stockpot, over medium-high heat, add the water, lemon, salt and Old Bay Seasoning. Bring it to a boil.

Add the Kielbasa and gently boil, uncovered, for five minutes.  Add corn and continue cooking an additional five minutes.  Add shrimp and stone crab and cook an additional three minutes longer. This is just enough time to cook the shrimp and heat up the pre-cooked stone crab. Remove from heat, drain immediately and serve. If you choose to include potatoes, add those to pot and cook for 15 minutes before adding Kielbasa.
>> Note: All frogs are noticeably absent from this stew.

Shrimp and Crab Scampi
Yields 4 servings

One of my favorite ways to eat this delicate, flakey crab is in this very simple preparation of traditional shrimp scampi. Don't feel like you're limited to only adding crab, specifically. Lobster and bay scallops also work well in this dish or a combination of all.

2 Tbsps canola oil
20 large Fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup Dry white wine or Vermouth
10 Stone crab claws or 20 blue crab claws, shelled
æ cup Butter, cut into pieces
3 Tbsps Fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbsps Fresh lemon juice
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Take out a large skillet and heat oil over medium heat. Add the fresh shrimp and cook 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate.
Add white wine or Vermouth to the skillet. Using a wooden spoon, stir to loosen any bits of shrimp stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes, until it is reduced by about half.  Now add the reserved shrimp and crab claw meat to the skillet.  Cook a minute or two until thoroughly heated.

Remove from heat and stir in butter a little at a time. Add the chopped parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.