Old Bay

I ADORE Old Bay!!! I use it in all kinds of dishes, not just seafood. Try adding it to the flour you use to coat chicken for frying. And add some to your macaroni and cheese. And when I used to work at a company that made hors d'oeuvres, I was developing an item with Old Bay, Cheddar, and potatoes in a tiny puff-pastry pocket.

The only thing to worry about is all the salt in it, so you have to remember to cut back on regular salt in anything where you use Old Bay. :wub:

Boy I thought I had answered this, but I guess not. Growing up we had a summer "house" on the bay at the mouth of the Patuxent across from the Patuxent Naval Air Station and what fond memories I have of weekends there. Crabbing with my Grandmother, and eating tons of crabs! So as far as I am concerned Old Bay is at the absolute top of the list! I could eat it by the spoonful!!!!!!!! Evrything is good with Old Bay, try it as a substitute in Cajun type recipes, have it on sandwiches, put it on Salmon Cakes, Shrimp the list goes on and on and on! :lips:

It works great if you add it to calamari flour, just cut back the amount of salt you put in.

it doesn;t exist here - anyone know what's in it?

OLD BAY SEASONING

1 tablespoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
6 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 whole cloves
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon mace

this came from whatscookingamerica.net

I love old bay. By far one of my favorite spices, but I am biased, I live in MD. There are few things better than a bunch of your friends, bushels of crabs, and cases of beer.

thanks ras

Are you guys talking about McCormick's Old Bay Seasoning?

My assumption is yes. ;)

Well, I grew up in MD, though unfortunately not near the bay. I loved blue crabs. When I was stationed in Norfolk, we had an apartment on Willoughby Spit, with easy access to a lot of crabbing locations. We went every weekend we could, and nearly always had good luck.

HOWEVER- we lived four years in Seattle and found the :bounce: D*U*N*G*E*N*E*S*S C*R*A*B :bounce: the most perfect seafood ever devised. And I include the Maine lobster in the competition.:suprise:

We've visited the Eastern Shore twice since our Seattle time, and enjoyed the crabs and crabcakes, but I'm convinced that, seated before a bushel of steamed blue crabs, you could starve to death while you tried to work your way to the meat. :rolleyes:

If you can find Dungeness (VERY preferably live) give them a try. Steamed is just great, but for a real treat boil them for a couple minutes only, them clean them (almost as easy as opening a can of Bud Lite,) break them up, and crack all the shells thoroughly. Make a thick slurry of garlic and EVOO - a little cayenne is good, too. Rub vigorously into the crab parts and finish on the grill. Some Mesquite smoke doesn't hurt a bit. After that, melted butter is all you need, though a light, lemony aioli is acceptable. I personally would be snobbish about using the Red Death sauce for this.

Aisan supermarkets often have live Dungeness at relatively reasonable prices. This is true at least in Oakland, Houston, and Chicago to my knowledge.

Bon appetit.

Mike

The above remark is not to be construed as an endorsement of Bud Lite.:(

Yep like it myself, have used it quite a bit in various dishes not just seafood.

Rgds Rook

Hey Mike, If you grew up in MD and you can't pick through a bushel of blue crabs, then you had a deprived childhood. I learned at a young age how to clean crabs, and now about 3-5 times a summer we have a crab-feast.

I have had dungeness before, but they are all frozen on the East Coast. Maybe someday I will be able to get them live. Then I will be able to really compare the two.

Old bay is ok, but I prefer louisiana brand or zatarins crawfish boil b/c it has more heat.

foamy old bay

We did a old bay foam on this crab sampler plate last year.
2 cups crab stock
16 grams of agar
24 grams of old bay seasoning
salt to taste

My first intro to Old Bay was in Hampton VA, sitting on the dock with a cold brew picking just steamed blue crab seasoned w/ Old Bay with my B&SIL. Life doesn't get much better.

It's not always easy to find here in the midwest so am grateful for the recipe!

I've used in on all types of fish and seafood, chicken, pork chops and in crab, shrimp and even macaroni salads. MMMMMMMM.

An equally good seasoning originally designed for beef (and I've used it on most everything else -- seafood, chicken, chops, ribs, etc) is Austn's Angus Acres Black Angus Steak Seasoning. It's main ingredients are sea salt, onions, garlic, black pepper, red bell pepper and a few other spices. It's all natural and contains NO MSG or sugars.

These two are "must haves" in my pantry.

Mmmmm- Zatarain's crab boil.... I could do shots of that.

In the little restaurants here around the bay a shaker of Old Bay is normally on the table next to the pepper. Hot, fresh french fries, a draft Yuengling, and a shake of OB..... mmmmmmmm.

Uh- the shake goes on the fries, by the way.

First off, Old Bay is a product of the Baltimore Spice Co., who has been packaging it since 1950. If McCormick is selling it it's by license.

Unlike cajun and creole seasonings, there's really not all that much salt in Old Bay. The original formula includes Celery salt, mustard, pepper, laurel leaves, cloves, pimento, ginger, mace, cardamom, cassia, and paprika. Compare that to, say, Tony Chacher's Creole, which is about half salt.

Mike: Sorry to disagree, but I'll take a Blue Claw over a Dungeness any day of the week. And I've eaten both of them fresh caught from the water. I'll even take Stone Crab over the Dungeness.

Read your own post for what it takes to make Dungeness taste like anything. You have to add all sorts of strong flavors, cuz, despite the myth, the Dungeness is all but tasteless. Northwesterners say "delicate" flavor. I say "nonexistent."

i'd have to agree with KY regarding the flavor of the crabs. if only they could get the blue's to get as big as the dungeness' size. :lips:

i love old bay, but i wish they offered an unsalted version.

Old Bay is not a spice, it's a seasoning.

Shel

Try it sprinkled on french fries instead of salt..pretty tasty.

I love Old Bay :D

I use it in soups, stews, the list is endless loll

Cheers

So where's the salt several people mentioned?

That's just someone's attempt to clone the recipe. And it is rather different from many clones I've seen for Old Bay. Normally Old Bay has salt.

Phil

KYHeir'...

no, just because I liked Dungeness barbecued Texas-style with garlic doesn't mean thay have no flavor. It's a way to kick them up a notch (not an unknown treatment with Blues.) Dungeness are just fine and quite sweet just steamed and served with butter.

I too have had both fresh out of the water... in Norfolk and in Seattle, where I lived on Puget Sound. I mean ON Puget Sound, where I caught them (in winter) in the underwater part of my front yard.

I have to admit that Stone Crab claws are right up there with Dungeness, just that they cost about eioght times as much, if you are able to buy the Dungeness right.

Mike :cool:

Yes, it does, Phil. In the form of celery salt.

Here, from the label, is the ingredients list:

Celery Salt, Spieces (including Mustard, Pepper, Laurel Leaves, Cloves, Pimento, Ginger, Mace, Cardamom, Cassia), Paprika.

So, with the exception of the salt, that recipe's not too far off the mark. And should work well for anyone on a salt-restricted diet.

But personally, I prefer the true gelt.