Spicy Crab Boil

Ingredients

• 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

Directions

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.

Crab-boil spices:

• 1/4 cup pickling spices
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds
• 2 tablespoons dried hot red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 5 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon minced dried chives
• 1/4 cup sea salt

In a food processor combine all ingredients and pulse until mixture forms a coarse powder. Crab-boil spices keep in a well-sealed container for several months in a cool, dark place.

Yield: about 1 cup