Crab Stew

1 doz. crabs, cleaned
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
3 large onions, chopped
1 head garlic, chopped
Salt, pepper, hot sauce
Cooked rice

In large pot, cook flour and oil over medium high heat until flour is dark coppery brown (roux).  Be careful not to burn.  Add onions and garlic and cook until they are soft.  Add 4 cups of water and cook until thickened.  Add more water as needed to make thin gravy.  Crack crab claws, but do not remove meat.  Add claws and crab bodies to gravy.  Simmer for several hours.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Serve in bowls over cooked rice.

We learned to make this gumbo-like stew from Don's friend Tom Howard, who took us crabbing for the first time when the boys were small.  He also taught us how to clean crabs.  We loaded up the van with boys and tubs and went to Hickory Mound in the Aucilla Wildlife Refuge.  What fun!  You tie a fish head or a chicken neck at the end of a long cord and throw it in the water.  Almost immediately you can feel a crab tugging at the cord.  Then the trick is to slowly pull the bait toward you so the crab doesn't let go.  When you get it within arm's reach, you hold onto the string with one hand and carefully bring the crab net into position behind and under the crab with the other, quickly scooping up the crab before he realizes what has happened to him.  Throw the crab in a tub and the bait back out in the water for another crab.  What fun!!  We ended up with a washtub full of crabs, and a van full of tired and happy boys.  We usually catch our crabs in wire traps now, but it's not nearly as much fun.