18 live blue crabs
2 tablespoons Crab-Boil Spices, recipe follows
1/2 tablespoon cayenne
1/4 cup table salt
2 lemons, quartered
1 onion ,halved
3/4 pounds small potatoes (about 2 inches in diameter)
1 head of garlic (not separated into cloves)
3 ears of corn, shucked
1 tablespoon Crab-Boil Spices, or to taste, for sprinkling over
boiled seafood
Accompaniments: French bread
In a kettle bring 5 gallons water to a boil.
While water is coming to a boil, in a deep sink rinse crabs in 2 or 3 changes of water. (Do not fill sink too full or crabs may crawl out.) Add 2 tablespoons Crab-Boil Spices, cayenne, salt, lemons, and onions to boiling water and boil 5 minutes. Add potatoes and garlic and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer potatoes and garlic with a large sieve to a large platter and keep warm, covered with foil. Add corn to boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer corn with tongs to platter and keep warm, covered with foil.
Return water to a boil. Transfer about 6 crabs carefully with long tongs to sieve, holding them down in sieve with tongs, and turn crabs out into boiling water. Add remaining crabs in same manner. Return water to a boil and cook crabs until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. (To determine doneness, remove a claw and crack it with the handle of a dinner knife. Use knife to extract meat from claw.) Transfer crabs with sieve to another large platter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Crab-Boil Spices.
Serve with French bread.
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