Last Call for Stone Crab

It is almost May 1 and that is the final day of the 2023 – 2024 stone crab season. The “Florida Stone Crab” is found in the Gulf of Mexico and the western North Atlantic. They can be found off both coasts of Florida, as well as Georgia and South Carolina and up the east coast. They are found to our west in Mexico, to our east in the Bahamas and to our south around Cuba. Stone crabs are in season and commercially harvested from October 15 through May 1. Stone crabs have an omnivore diet consisting of oysters, and other small mollusks like clams and mussels. Honestly, they are not that picky and will eat almost anything.

The stone crab harvest is unique in that it is considered a sustainable food source. Each crab has two claws - one larger claw, the “crusher,” and a smaller one for grabbing.  Amazingly, stone crabs can regenerate a claw in one to three years. This means that a crab can survive and even thrive for its natural life cycle as it is being harvested.

Our friends at Kirk Fish Company on Goodland have their own crews that fish their own stone crab traps. Kirks’ HAACP-certified processing facility cooks, cools and grades the claws immediately after harvest. The claws are graded into sizes medium (about seven claws per pound), large (four to five claws per pound), jumbo (about three claws per pound), and colossal (two or less per pound).  While the larger the claw, the larger the price, the larger claws tend to be “heavier” (more meat inside) and relate to a better value for the money. As we are at the end of the season and tomorrow is never a guarantee, go for the large claws! You won’t regret it.

A nice perk of buying at Kirks is they will crack the claws for you. That means no splattering crab juice when it comes time for you to eat. Eating stone crab is an interactive experience; you are going to get your hands dirty. The sweet and luscious crab meat makes the effort and the mess worth it. And maybe, just maybe, you will find a generous crab-eating partner that would pick the claws for you.

Hot or cold, stone crabs are delicious on their own. If you want to be fancy, you can squeeze on some fresh lemon. Warm stone crab is nice dipped in melted butter and chilled stone crab is traditionally paired with mustard sauce. I am a bit of a purist; I prefer to enjoy stone crab chilled with little to no accouterment.

Most mustard sauce recipes are fairly simple, and you may have all the ingredients already.

I strongly encourage you to head over to Kirk Fish Company in Goodland for your last taste of that sweet meat.  Kirk’s is dangerously close to closing for the season - when the last claw is sold, that’s it.  Get over to Goodland & get your last of the season claws and let’s get crackin’!