The dish to eat in Naples, Florida · United States

Stone crab claws

Name: Chilled stone crab claws with mustard sauce
Yield: 4
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 3 to 4 lb (1.4 to 1.8 kg) cooked stone crab claws, medium or large, kept cold; 1 cup (240 g) mayonnaise; 1 1/2 tbsp dry mustard powder; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp steak sauce (such as A.1.); 2 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk; 1/4 tsp kosher salt; 1 lemon, cut into wedges, plus 1 tsp juice for the sauce; 4 tbsp (55 g) butter, melted, for anyone who prefers it warm; Crushed ice, to serve

Photo: FoodOfMiami, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Cooked Gulf stone crab claws, cracked and served cold with a mustard sauce.

Naples counts the year in stone crab: from Oct 15 to May 1 the claws come off the boats in Everglades City and onto every seafood house menu in town. Order them cold, cracked, with mustard sauce and a slice of key lime pie after.

Where to eat it Cook it at home Have a chef cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Naples, Florida

Kelly's Fish House Dining Room
Gordon River
Order: Stone crab claws, then key lime pie
Called the city's oldest seafood restaurant, an Old Florida room on the river.
Open in Maps
Truluck's
Fifth Avenue South
Order: Stone crab claws
Known for claws that go from trap to table within a day.
Open in Maps
City Seafood
Everglades City
Order: Claws by the pound, on the river
At the source, about an hour from Naples, where claws are sold by the pound.
Open in Maps

All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best stone crab claws in Naples, Florida, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Chilled stone crab claws with mustard sauce

Serves 4Time 20 min, plus 1 hr chilling

Stone crab claws are cooked on the boat or at the dock as soon as they are landed, so at home the work is the sauce and the cracking. Buy them cooked from a fish market in season and keep them cold. The sauce is a sharp, creamy mustard mayonnaise, the classic Florida pairing.

Pans and tools

Mallet or heavy spoon
Clean kitchen towel
Mixing bowl and whisk
Platter with crushed ice

You’ll need

3 to 4 lb (1.4 to 1.8 kg) cooked stone crab claws, medium or large, kept cold
1 cup (240 g) mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp dry mustard powder
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp steak sauce (such as A.1.)
2 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, plus 1 tsp juice for the sauce
4 tbsp (55 g) butter, melted, for anyone who prefers it warm
Crushed ice, to serve

Steps

Make the sauce: in a bowl whisk the dry mustard with the Worcestershire and steak sauce until smooth, so the powder has no lumps.
Whisk in the mayonnaise, Dijon, cream, lemon juice and salt. Taste and add more dry mustard for more bite. Cover and chill at least 1 hour so the mustard mellows.
Keep the claws in the fridge until just before serving. Do not reheat them, they toughen.
Crack each claw: lay it on a board under a clean kitchen towel and tap each section once, firmly, with the back of a heavy spoon or a mallet, just enough to break the shell without crushing the meat.
Peel back a little shell at the knuckle so the meat is easy to pull out, leaving the pincer tip on as a handle.
Pile the claws on crushed ice with lemon wedges, the mustard sauce in small bowls and the melted butter on the side.

Chef’s tips

Buy claws only in season (Oct 15 to May 1) from a fish market that sells them cooked the same or previous day.

Allow about 1 lb (450 g) of medium claws per person as a main course, less as a starter.

The sauce keeps 3 days in the fridge and is good with cold shrimp too.

Contains: ['shellfish', 'egg', 'milk', 'fish (Worcestershire)', 'mustard'].

Save to my recipes Save on Pinterest

Follow Chef on Pinterest for the dish in every city.