If you’ve ever been to Charleston, South Carolina, you’ve probably seen She Crab Soup on just about every single menu.

But what is she crab soup?

She Crab Soup is a specialty crab soup that gets its name due to its exclusive use of female crabs. Female crabs are used for their roe, or eggs. This gives this She Crab Soup recipe a distinct flavor.

You should be able to find roe in many female crabs while cleaning. Just look for the bright orange colored tiny balls inside the crab!

If you’re looking for female crabs, check out Cameron’s Seafood’s online store and we will ship them to you in under 48 hours, anywhere in the continental United States.

So what better way to describe the details and nuances of She Crab Soup than to give you a recipe to cook for yourself?!

Today we’re going to show you how to make an authentic Charleston-style She Crab soup recipe with a little help from our friends Matt Lee and Ted Lee and their Cookbook The Lee Bros Charleston Kitchen. 

She Crab Soup Recipe:

Cooking and Prep Time: 1 hour

Skill Level: Intermediate

Ingredients Required to make She Crab Soup:

• 6 Hard-shell Maryland Blue Crabs (either live or pre-steamed)
• 1 ½ cups of lump Maryland crab meat
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 cup of finely chopped shallots
• 4 cups of half and half cream
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon of sherry + more for serving
• ½ cup of chopped fresh chives for serving
• salt and pepper to taste

She Crab Soup Cooking Directions:

Note: If you’ve purchased pre-steamed crabs, bypass the first step below!

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and throw the crabs in the pot, two at a time. Transfer the crabs to a strainer after they’re cooked and run cold water over them. Repeat until all of the crabs are steamed.
• Once the crabs are cool enough to touch, start breaking apart the crabs one by one. If you’re wondering how to properly break apart crabs, check out our blog post! Make sure you get all of the roe and set it aside for later.
• Pour out the water, but reserve about 3 cups worth of it. Throw the crab shell, and the picked-out legs and claws into a saucepan. Boil it down by about a third and let it rest.
• Next, you’re going to start making a roux-style thickener. Put the flour into a small bowl and add 3 tablespoons of the hot broth, mixing continually until it forms a paste.
• Pour the rest of the broth into a blender, along with ¼ cup of crab roe and blend until the roe is entirely dissolved. While blending, slowly add your roux mixture to the blender.
• Start melting butter on medium/low heat in the saucepan. Add shallots, ½ tsp of salt, ¼ tsp of pepper and stir occasionally for about 4 minutes. Next, add the cream, broth and one tbsp. of sherry.
• Heat the pot to a simmer and then uncover, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced by 15-20% or about 12 to 15 minutes have passed.
• Add crab meat and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Before serving, pour a teaspoon of sherry into each bowl and garnish with some leftover crab roe and chives!

If you make this Maryland style crab soup at home, be sure to let us know! You can share it with your friends on social media and tag us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

We hope you enjoy!

Nutritional Information:

• Calories 486
• Carbohydrates 20g (7%)
• Fat 34g (53%)
• Protein 23g (47%)
• Saturated Fat 21g (106%)
• Sodium 483mg (20%)
• Fiber 2g (6%)
• Monounsaturated Fat 10g
• Cholesterol 178mg

Buy Maryland Blue Crab Online:

As we mentioned above, Cameron’s Seafood sells fresh seafood nationwide on its new online store. You can now order authentic Maryland crabs, crab cakes, lobster, shrimp and so much more with a few clicks!

Our company’s been covered in the New York Times and HuffPost in the past few months. Have any questions? Interested in placing an order? Contact us today! We look forward to serving you soon.

By: Dylan Bridger