Florida Land Crab (home, live in, eat)

[Wild Style]

Have any of you guys seen these HUGE crabs down here near inter-coastal water ways? I was walking with my kid and we happened to see one the size of my foot running down the side walk. He was a deep royal blue on top with orange/red lines in some areas. Really beautiful. later that day I saw a entire colony of them along another section of inter coastal area.

[boxus]

Yes, saw a couple around, was out hiking and seen that they live in holes by the water.

[doggiebus]

Wow you saw one, I saw one a few years ago, didn't see any in years before that one and haven't seen one since. I would never eat one, but people do.

[gbugmiami]

I work in Gables by the sea, and twice a year the place is literally overrun with a smaller version of what you describe. I dont know if they are called blue crabs or what, but they are everywhere. Like you drive in the parking lot and run them over, everywhere. They are starting to appear now, so it must be one of those times. We had an employee that would go home and cook them, i tried it once, (peer pressure), but wouldnt do it again!

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Wow you saw one, I saw one a few years ago, didn't see any in years before that one and haven't seen one since. I would never eat one, but people do.

I have seen DOZENS this past week. There are TONS of them on the inter-coastal areas that are still untouched by development. My shoe is a size 11 and most I have seen are about as large as my shoe. I have also been hearing snapping shrimp as well.

Originally Posted by gbugmiami

I work in Gables by the sea, and twice a year the place is literally overrun with a smaller version of what you describe. I dont know if they are called blue crabs or what, but they are everywhere. Like you drive in the parking lot and run them over, everywhere. They are starting to appear now, so it must be one of those times. We had an employee that would go home and cook them, i tried it once, (peer pressure), but wouldnt do it again!

how did you cook it? I was reading online that in Cuba and Puerto Rico they cure them before eating them. meaning they keep them alive for a month. Feed them raw coconut and sweet corn to clean their systems out. Then they get ole bay seasoning, potatoes and huge pot and boil them. If I found them in a area that humans didn't visit much I would definitely have a go at some.

[doggiebus]

^^^Nice to hear.

[gbugmiami]

This lady I believe is from Trinidad. What she did is feed them Corn Meal (i think) for a few days to clean them out, then cooked them. Then chopped them into little bits with brown rice. It was actually pretty good, would have been better if i hadnt known where they came from! (our parking lot).
I think its a mating season that brings them out of the marsha up into land.

[neutronnorman]

They are delicious! We feed corn to the giant blue crab for ~5 days then boil them. They are all over the Black point area.

[amIayankee?]

A Giant Blue... - The Giant Blue Land Crab - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

[buahh]

No, you must make them fast for a week before eating them. If you don't make them fast, they have an atrocious taste. Actually, I've never seen anyone eating them.