Busters Recipes

Crab Tomato Soup
  
  4 quarts water
5 cups peeled tomatoes or 2 cans 28 ounces cans tomatoes
1 can, 8 ounces tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 ham hocks
1 beef bone
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 live blue crabs, cleaned and quartered, backs reserved (see note)
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups fresh or frozen mixed vegetables, such as diced carrots, cut-up green beans, corn kernels, shelled peas and lima beans, in any combination
2 pounds claw crab meat, picked over
  
  Combine the water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves, barley, parsley, Chesapeake seasoning, celery, onion, ham hocks, beef bone, salt and pepper in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Add the crabs and backs. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes.
Add the cabbage, potatoes and mixed vegetables. When the vegetables are tender, remove the ham hocks and pick the meat off the bone. Return the picked meat to the soup. Discard the bay leaves and backs.
Add the claw meat and simmer 10 minutes longer. Serve at once.
Note: Blue crabs used in soup recipes are usually whole blue crabs that are female or too small for steaming. To prepare crabs for use in a soup, drop the crabs into a pot of boiling water and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water until cool enough to handle. Remove top shell of crabs, reserving shells for soup, as they add flavor to the soup as it cooks. Clean the body of the crab by removing the gills and innards. Break the crabs into quarters, and they are ready for use in a soup.
Makes 12 to 15 servings.

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