Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Miami
Whenever I visit Miami, I like to pay a visit to my friend’s at Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant where I always have a great time and great food, including a platter of succulent stone crab claws. Stone crabs from South Florida have shells as hard as their name implies. The only edible parts of the crab are its two large claws, which weigh as much as three-quarters of a pound apiece. Although stone crabs have always been plentiful in the waters surrounding Florida, no one thought to eat them until 1921, when a Harvard professor visiting Miami suggested to a local restaurant owner that the crabs might be delicious. Indeed, after being cooked and chilled, the firm-textured crabmeat tasted sweet and succulent. So stone crab claws were put on the menu, served with drawn butter and mustard sauce. Soon, word spread and tourists flocked to the eatery to sample this new gastronomic sensation. Today that Miami Beach restaurant, called Joe’s Stone Crab, is still a very famous destination.
Because of the enormous popularity of their claws, the harvesting of stone crabs is now regulated, with a season stretching from October to May. The crabs are caught in wooden traps, and if they’re big enough, one claw per crab may be removed by snapping it off. The crabs then go back into the ocean where they regenerate new claws for the ones removed and it takes between 12 to 24 months for those claws to reach legal size again.
Of all seafood crab has always been been my favorite. It's been awhile since I've had any, but after reading this I may have to pick some up for a special treat
Posted by: Kari | February 26th, 2009 at 4:05 am
Hi Martha,
As long as I have lived in Florida, I don’t remember ever tasting a stone crab. King crabs have always been my favorite as well as blue crab, and garlic crabs that you crack open with a mallet and eat on newspaper covered tables, but I really should try a Stone crab.
And then there are those giant walking crabs! One year when we first moved to Florida and after a really wet hurricane, in which the canals overflowed, I went out to the end of my driveway to pick up a newspaper that I figured had been delivered sometime before the storm. It was getting dark outside and debris was everywhere but it was too late to start cleaning up except for a piece of wood right in front of the newspaper. I bent over to get it along with the paper, but as you can guess, it wasn’t a piece of wood at all. When that crab moved at lightning speed, I screamed and jumped a mile, (I’m such a chicken), but I had never seen such a big walking crab before either! They had washed out from the canal about a quarter mile away and were all over the place. Anyway, there are lots of surprises down here in Florida and I’ve been startled quite a few times.
Thanks for letting us know about your favorite seafood place in Miami. Trish
Posted by: Trish | February 26th, 2009 at 6:44 am
I looks delicious! I will have to mark it on my to do list next time I'm there.
Posted by: Lori | February 26th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Dear Martha, I hope you enjoyed your trip to Joe' Stone Crab House. I also hope you were treated well. My nephew, Brian Johnson, is the manager and knowing Brian as I do, I'm sure you were. regards
Posted by: Dolores Incorvaia | February 26th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Hi Martha, Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Miami sure sounds, looks and I'm sure tastes like a great place to eat. Susan, Kevin and you look like you were having a wonderful time. Our main crab here in the Puget Sound area is the dungeness crab and it too is very delicious. Trish, your finding a walking crab in your driveway reminds me of how salmon and other fish cross country roads during heavy rainstorms and flooding in our area. Thank you both for sharing. Have a great day everyone. We had an inch and a half of snow this morning and it's almost all gone already at noon. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | February 26th, 2009 at 10:00 am
It's good to know (and is somewhat reassuring) that these types of crabs' claws will regenerate, since the rest of them won't be consumed as food. (Do ALL crab claws have regenerative qualities - I don't really know?! [furrowed brow] ) Here in Maryland, blue crabs are popular - the eastern shore's (well, Maryland's overall) advertising gimmick is 'Maryland is for Crabs', and we consume e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g on the poor creature...
Oh!...'Entertaining' (1982) FINALLY ARRIVED TODAY in the mail (it took FOREVER!) OMGoodness, it's gonna' be WONDERFUL, just from quickly flipping thru the pages - it's YOUR 'hands-on' that I'll love seeing and reading about, and I'm sure I'll learn yet a little more about you (AND the subjects at hand).
It's where it all began!...boy oh boy, am I glad!
=^..^=
"Why is it that so many of us persist in thinking that autumn is a sad season? Nature has merely fallen asleep, and her dreams must be beautiful if we are to judge by her countenance."--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Posted by: Cindy Bricker | February 26th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Oh my gosh, those are huge. We adore fun meals like that and always try to do a lobster dinner on our bi-annual visit to Prince Edward Island.
I am grateful to you for your soft hued kitchens...I picked vanilla cabinets and trim for our new home (being built now) and almost all the design magazines are dominated by crisp white kitchens and mouldings...whenever I doubted my love for cream I turned to your magazines, show and website.
http://www.snickerdoodles.typepad.com
Posted by: kerry macLeod | February 26th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Oooo, that looks delicious. Even my kids love seafood, especially when they see those claws. It's doesn't scare them, they want to play with them!
Posted by: Marie {Make and Takes} | February 26th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
oh how i love joe's! their stone crabs are truly the best. did you get to try their key lime pie too? it's quite lovely. it's a family tradition that we order joe's for my fathers birthday every december. not quite the ambiance of joe's, but still the same great taste! i highly recommend ordering from them.
Posted by: christina from paperzest | February 26th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Hi Martha,
Posted by: Barbara Brown | February 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Hi Martha,
I was in Miami for a week in Jan. with my husband and five adult kids. We stayed at the Fontainbleau and tried to have dinner at Joe's Stone Crab restaurant. The wait was 2 hours and 30 minutes so we went to the Hotel Colony which was great. We love Miami and South Beach.
Posted by: Barbara Brown | February 26th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Oh, but Martha, I thought stone crabs were one of the sea creatures that were on that "don't eat" list; you know, like black sea bass. What's that list called? Used to catch stone crabs with my hands when I was a kid and sell them to the fish market. They are very good to eat (if you like crab at all) but BOY, can they PINCH!
Posted by: tinay | February 27th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Hi Tinay,
According to the most recent Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, the crab to avoid is imported king crab. Stone crabs are fine. Thanks for commenting.
Posted by: Martha Stewart | February 27th, 2009 at 5:11 am
I too was just in Miami and really enjoyed the Fountain Bleu. We had awesome drinks at the really cool bar. Was actually in town pitching Baby Boomers Cookies...the ones the Obama's love so much since they had them in Des Moines, Iowa. Once word got out about the cookies, the owners of the diner where they came from started making thousands every day.
Posted by: Michael W | February 27th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
As a former resident of Miami I enjoyed reading the post. I flooded back memories of the wonderful stone crab we used to enjoy so much. It's nice to hear that they are "fishing" responsibly. Thanks for the article.
Posted by: Jenna Lang | February 28th, 2009 at 5:26 am
Hi Martha,
I love that we have a Joe's Stone Crab here in Vegas at Caesar's Forum Shops. Nice to be able to enjoy this wonderful seafood right here at home. But I always manage to cut a finger on those lovely shells. How about you?
Posted by: Donna West | February 28th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Oh, Martha, I had not heard of stone crabs until I moved to Florida. I'm a blue crab lover from Maryland and first tasted stone crabs at the Stone Crab Restaurant in Miami. I will say they are OK, but there's no comparison once smitten by blue crabs (steamed, soft shell and crab cakes)cooked in MD.
Posted by: CATSulton | March 1st, 2009 at 6:51 am
Darling, your taste is impeccable! You are a total inspiration my sister Karen has one of your books and we love to follow some of your idea's.
Posted by: Tracey | March 1st, 2009 at 11:25 am
Love Stone Crabs -- not sure where to post this
Great Video on Neith Nevelson (Louise Nevelson's Granddaughter) --- she wants to send a painting to Martha Stewart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRmGSbPVAaw&feature=channel_page
Posted by: Katherine | March 1st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
SOO GOOD!
I understand, cannot get enough of it!
Posted by: Laura | March 3rd, 2009 at 4:50 am