In the Chesapeake Bay, the blue crab rules and crab soup is a hotly debated topic among boaters and foodies alike. PassageMaker was invited, for a second year, to participate in judging more than 20 soups showcased in the Capital Gazette Newspapers’ 18th annual Crab Soup Cook-off held at the annual Maryland Seafood Festival in Annapolis.
Two types of crab soup are traditional to the Chesapeake Bay – cream of crab, a luxuriously rich, smooth concoction often drizzled with sherry and vegetable crab (or Maryland Crab on some menus), a tomato based broth that includes fresh corn, peas, beans and big lumps of crab. A highlight of the Maryland Seafood Festival , The Crab Soup Cook-off featured both cream of crab and vegetable crab soups from 23 of the best restaurants in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay.
Six judges, split into two groups of three, conduct ed blind tastings of 11 vegetable crab and 21 cream of crab soups (not knowing which restaurants made what soups) and voted. The public, attending the event for a small fee, also vote on their favorite soups. The event drew in hundreds of people, ready to taste and vote for their favorite cream of crab and vegetable crab soups. Proceeds from the event benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis, MD.
The judges included Fran Jaques, The Capital's food writer; the infamous Feasty Boys, Jim and Jon, often featured on The Today Show and ESPN’s Cold Pizza; cookbook author Ken Kaedrich who has written more than xx cookbooks; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Jennifer Donnelly, and me, PassageMaker Magazine’s Contributing Editor. Fran, Jim and I tasted vegetable crab soups and Jon, Ken and Jen tasted the creamy crab soups. Judging was based on flavor, use of crab and texture.
The creamy soups ran the gamut from thin and watery to thick enough to stand a spoon straight up. Some tasted bland and poorly seasoned, while others highlighted the sweetness and richness of the crab. In the end, the judges determined that a creamy base, with lumps of crab and a touch of sherry was the perfect cream of crab and awarded first place to Buddy’s Crabs and Ribs overlooking Ego Alley in Annapolis.
Vegetable crab soups are usually made with the leftover crab shells from a crab feast. Cooked with a little Old Bay seasoning, the crabs are a bit spicy and this translates into a crab stock with a little bite but mostly crab flavor. The vegetables add texture and balance and complement the crab flavor – carrots and corn lend some sweetness; tomatoes add acid; beans add weight and bite – and finally, the pieces of crab throughout the lovely broth add richness. The soups we tasted feel into two categories – savory broths with hints of beef or meat flavor along with the tomato and sweeter broths with lots of corn and carrots to sweeten it. While I favor the savory broths, my fellow judges seemed to prefer the sweeter broths (which were delicious too!) and we awarded first place to Mike’s Crab House on the South River and second place to the Bayard Inn in Chesapeake City (my first choice!). The People’s Choice awards went to two different restaurants – 700 South Gourmet Deli, Linthicum for Vegetable Crab Soups and Doubletree Hotel’s Ports of Call restaurant, Annapolis for its Cream of Crab soup.
While I can’t offer you a recipe from one of the winners, here’s a link to a vegetable crab recipe I have used for a long time from the makers of Old Bay spice and a link to the Capital-Gazette Newspaper’s website that features many good cream and vegetable crab soup recipes you can try!
http://www.mccormick.com/recipeprintfullpage.cfm?id=392
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:e7TA7zGSBeIJ:www.hometownannapolis.com/food5_crabsoup.html+%22Maryland+cream+of+crab+soup%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&ie=UTF-8
Full results for the Capital Gazette Newspapers’ 18th annual Crab Soup Cook-off:
Judge’s choice,
Vegetable Crab Soup
First place: Mike’s Crab House, Riva
Second place: The Bayard House Restaurant, Chesapeake City
Third place: M&M Catering, Odenton
Cream of Crab Soup
First place: Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs, Annapolis
Second place: Carrol’s Creek Waterfront Restaurant, Annapolis
Third place: Doubletree Hotel’s Ports of Call restaurant, Annapolis
People’s choice
Vegetable Crab Soup:
First place: 700 South Gourmet Deli, Linthicum
Second place: Rockfish Raw Bar & Grill, Annapolis
Third place: The Fix New York Deli, Edgewater
Cream of Crab Soup
First place: Doubletree Hotel’s Ports of Call restaurant, Annapolis
Second place: Old Stein Inn, Edgewater
Third place: Carrol’s Creek Waterfront Restaurant, Annapolis.