Stone Crab Claws for Xmas Eve

Anyone got a line on where I can get fresh, somewhat reasonable Stone Crab Claws this season? I've talked to Isaacson & Stein, which are frozen & colossal. Talked to Joe's Stone Crab directly and they about $55/lb for Fresh & Large.

Another question, how much of a difference is between fresh and frozen with these things?

Thanks

Jeff

I was curious, I went to Bob Chinn's site and he has Jumbo Stone Crab Claws listed ( as of June 1 ) at $ 23.99 lb., available October thru May. We have bought products from his retail counter before, and everything has been fresh and delicious.

P.S--- Love your shows, keep em coming!

http://www.bobchinns.com/promo_retail_menu.html

Stone crab claws are never found fresh i'.e. uncooked. They are immediately cooked upon harvesting.
I doubt that any claws that make it to the Mid West have not been previously frozen, no matter how sold.
My preference is to always purchase frozen and to be sure of the Dealer and source. Any Origin other than Florida, I don't purchase as i have found these sources to be substandard.-Dick

Why not buy from Board favorite Frenchy's in Clearwater, FL. The beachside grouper mini-chain is also a commercial fishing operation. Many of the big Chicago steakhouses/seafooders source from there, I believe.

http://www.frenchysstonecrab.com/new_site/about.php

Thank you all for the advice. I'm aware that the claws all come "cooked" but wanted to know if its worth it to have them shipped directly from FL or buy locally frozen. I've only had them at Joe's in both MIami and here.

I don't see them on the current list of offerings at New England Seafood Co. but it's probably worth asking if they can get 'em--if they can, I'd be pretty confident in the quality. And "frozen" is a variable term--from my experience, there is still a significant differential in the quality of some frozen seafood v. others'.

Burhop's in Glenview carries them regularly or can order them for you. They are fresh (already cooked but never frozen) and they are the medium size at $24.95 a lb. This weekend they have 10 percent off all crab including stone crabs.

Hi- You might try Hmart too, and Burhop's in Wilmette.

Crab claws must be cooked immediately or they go bad quickly. If you don't mind paying a premium price, here is a company that catches, cooks and ships them all on the same day. http://www.flstonecrab.com/ It is the fedex that kills you, unless you are ordering 20+ lbs. of the things, which will cost more than my first car.
http://www.farm-2-market.com/fish-seafo ... rab-claws/ includes the shipping in the price, but they are still outrageously expensive. Farm-2-market also carries penn cove mussels which are hands down the best in the world.

edit: Now that I do the math, the cost is actually less to have them shipped overnight from FL. than to buy them locally.

NFriday wrote:Hi- You might try Hmart too, and Burhop's in Wilmette.

Not singling this Post out but only to provide information.
All stone crab claws are not alike.
Many people have never had 'good' stone crab claws.
Most at this time are not from Forida and have been frozen, usually small and of questionable quality.
I can guarantee that they are a far cry from the real thing.
Right now in the chicago/Midwest area, I don't have a good source.
I personally woud try a mail order from Florida.
We have a few items shipped to us that are Maine specific by Browne Trading and the quality is excellent and no one in the Midwest can touch the quality. I would hope that one of these places in forida would be of equal quality.
As to H-Mart, we only purchase what's alive as the quality can be substandard otherwise and in no way would I purchase stone crab claws from H Mart. I long ago stopped shooing at /Burhop's, a pale shadow of its original Down town location.
Good luck and let us know how things turn out as I'm interested in a reliable source.-Dick
BTW farm 2 market site says season closed, only frozen?

The stone crab season is definitely not over. The season always runs October 15- May 15 and never changes due to the fact of it being a sustainable fishery. Only one claw is harvested at a time and the crabs are thrown back to regenerate the claw. All Burhop's are not owned by the same owner so the quality can very greatly between them and I find the Glenview one to be the most reliable, especially if you preorder the crabs to come in on a specific day. H Mart's fish section is pretty much like playing Russian Roulette these days so good luck with that. If you want the truly best in the Chicago area just go to the source and pick up Joe's Stone Crab to go and ask for your claws uncracked. They will provide you with the cracking mallet, sauce, lemons, and even a fresh bread basket for each order. They're expensive at I believe $42.95 for 6 claws (this is the "select" size and imo the best bang for your buck), but they are cheaper for sure than ordering them direct from FL and paying a HUGE shipping fee.

It probably wouldn't hurt to talk to the folks at Supreme Lobster in Villa Park...

Thank you all for the responses. Having just got back from the Palm Beach Wine & Food Festival last night, my appetite has only increased.

I might have a direct source now, I'll keep you guys posted and share when I finally order these expensive little bastards.

Jeff

lazygal09 wrote:It probably wouldn't hurt to talk to the folks at Supreme Lobster in Villa Park...

Yep, Carl Galvin.

budrichard wrote:BTW farm 2 market site says season closed, only frozen?

I don't think they have updated their site for a while.

Just got my shipment! 10 lbs of Large claws. FedEx picked up in FL at 5:57pm last night and delivered to my door at noon today. Fresh, never frozen and like my Great Grandparents, Straight off the Boat. I'm told that these babies are perfection for up to 2 days, or until Monday when I will serve them. I Just cracked one, pulled out the sweet meat and dunked it in some creamy mustard sauce. Indeed perfection.

I got them spaced out nicely in a hotel pan in cold fridge in the garage, were I have a feeling I will be sneaking into quite frequently during the next 48 hours.

Thank to "d4v3" for the recommendation of using flstonecrab.com - expensive yes, but worth every penny on my favorite day of the year, Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas Er'Body!

looks great...I'd throw some ziplocks filled with ice under them and on top to keep them extremely cold for storage.

Glad to know of another site for quality seafood!
Enjoy!
Website says sold out for the Holidays, so I will have to wait to try them myself.
XMAS eve and New Years Eve present a shipping problem for overnight this year since they come on a Monday and no one ships on a Sunday and Sat delivery can be iffy for live items for Monday usage.
We got a gallon of 'Day Boat' scallops recently, as the Season started up, from Browne Trading but they freeze reasonably well. We both cook rare or slice thin as sashimi and serve with fresh grated Yuzu rind(not always easy to find). Quality is not even close by any MidWest purveyor.
Farmed Sterling caviar is scheduled to arrive next week and has a decent shelf life, so it will be fine for New Years Eve. Lobster for us will be sourced locally Saturday, poached, shelled and held until New Years Eve, has worked quite well in the past. Seafood purchasing on Monday is iffy because none arrives after Friday and much is sold out over the weekend.
Happy Holidays and I'm always interested to know of other top quality sea food suppliers.
-Dick