6 Unwritten Rules at a Maryland Crab Feast

Someone dumps a pile of steamed crabs onto brown paper, and the whole table digs in.

Marylanders who grew up around that table don’t think twice about how it works.

A first-timer can feel like everyone else got a rulebook.

Here are the unwritten rules worth knowing before you pull up a chair at a crab feast as a newcomer.

1. Skipping the Mallet

Baltimore magazine’s feast guide calls brown paper, mallets, a knife and a pail the traditional down-and-dirty route.

But you’ll hear a different view in a 2024 story from The Baltimore Banner.

Reporter Jasmine Vaughn-Hall quoted Sky-Ra Jackson saying crab eaters don’t need a knocker, Jackson’s word for the mallet.

Vaughn-Hall agreed, saying a mallet makes crab-eating even messier because some people bludgeon the crab and cause spatter.

Her family wouldn’t disown her for pulling one out, though they’d have questions, since she has opened crabs by hand for so long.

2. Claiming Your Crab

A crab feast has a touch rule, according to the B’Licious list in an April 2019 CBS Baltimore report.

Once you touch a crab, it’s yours.

People at the table will judge how you clean your crabs and how you pick them.

That means you’ll want to look the pile over before you reach in.

3. No Finger Licking

At a crab feast, Baltimore magazine’s guide says, don’t lick your fingers, no matter how much spice builds up on your hands.

Good luck with that.

The guide also says to wash your hands before the feast.

The B’Licious list says that when you leave the table to clean your hands, you should be looking to do other people favors.

4. Paying for What You Eat

Vaughn-Hall of The Baltimore Banner is accustomed to everyone pitching in at a crab feast.

If someone didn’t get the memo, they contribute another way, usually by hopping on the grill or bringing booze.

Jackson’s rule is to keep count of the crabs you eat, since you eat what you paid for.

Baltimore magazine’s guide adds a rule for the common pile: Don’t eat more than your share.

5. Skipping the Smalls

Small crabs can land badly at a crab feast.

Several people who shared their views with The Baltimore Banner in 2024 called them an insult for the work it takes to get very little meat.

One person even called the smalls spiders.

The B'Licious list puts it more bluntly, saying smalls are rude.

The Banner's story says jumbos are usually saved for very small get-togethers.

When you order, ask about the size first.

6. Learning to Pick

Kids in some families have to learn to pick a crab before they get to eat one at a crab feast.

The Banner's Vaughn-Hall wrote that her grandmother set that rule, and a Nextdoor poster agreed.

A coworker of hers was assigned the claws as a kid, which prepared them for whole crabs.

You can start your kids on the claws, the way her coworker's household did.

Brown Paper Tables

A crab feast can mean a sheet of brown paper laid across a picnic table.

Smithsonian magazine writer Amanda Fiegl found that setup in 2009 at LP Steamers, a restaurant in Baltimore's Locust Point.

Her waiter slid the crabs off a tray straight onto the table.

Then came wooden mallets and knives.

Baltimore magazine's guide warns about the aftermath, which includes crab dirt forming under your nails and likely a few stain-remover emergencies.

You'll want clothes you can spare.

Old Bay on the Crabs

A crab feast's steamed crabs come topped with Old Bay, according to Visit Maryland.

It's a traditional seasoning of the Chesapeake region.

Its mix of crushed pepper, paprika and celery salt, among other spices, adds flavor and heat to your crabs.

The guide warns you'll pick up cuts and burns, since the salt from the spice stings.

Steamed, Not Boiled

A crab feast serves steamed crabs, and a pub owner quoted in Baltimore magazine's guide explains why.

Brandon Floyd, owner of Floyd's Crossroads Pub, said boiled crabs get mushy.

Steaming gives them only a bit of moisture and heat, which helps dry them out.

That dryness makes them easy for you to pick.

The Mustard Debate

A crab feast can split a table over the mustard, the yellow stuff inside the crab.

Vaughn-Hall wrote that it's part of the crab's digestive system.

Some people take offense when it's wasted.

Others are indifferent, and some think it's a little gross and scoop it out.

You can eat it or scoop it out, and either way you'll have company at the table.

Jimmies and Sooks

Crab feast talk sorts blue crabs into jimmies and sooks.

The Chesapeake Bay Program says male blue crabs are jimmies, and mature females are sooks.

If a jimmy lands on your pile, you've got a male crab.

What Goes Beside the Crabs

A crab feast can come with hushpuppies, and the guide recommends light, fluffy hushpuppies served with honey butter.

At LP Steamers, the Locust Point restaurant, a pitcher of beer anchored the brown paper tablecloth in 2009, according to Smithsonian.

Sides can differ from county to county.

Author Kate Livie, quoted in the guide, grew up in Kent County, where corn and sliced tomatoes were served.

Her husband grew up in Talbot County, where a side of pickle spears and cheddar cheese cubes is common.

Pass the pickles.

Fall Crab Feasts

A crab feast in late September or October can cost you less, according to a Pappas Seafood manager quoted in the guide.

Jimmy Fowler, the crab room manager, said the end of the season brings heavier, bigger crabs and lower prices.