When I first started buying and cooking crabs in college I’d do a 4:1 ratio of Old Bay to kosher salt. I had never heard of JO. Later on I discovered JO#2 and that became my standard. Nowadays I do JO#2 with some extra black pepper and mustard powder added to it - inspired by your video showing some of the Wye seasoning blends. Last year I tried out the Louisiana crawfish boil approach …it was good but suffice to say I will never boil crabs again. Boiling is for lobster and crawfish. I use Old Bay on potatoes, chicken, waterfowl and of course in my cornflakes and toothpaste every morning.
When I do eat crabs(blue crabs) in OCMD or at home. I eat them over that brown paper so, all the seasoning J.O#2 or Old Bay ends up all over that which becomes your work surface. So they end up with seasoning on the meat for the most part
❤ you capt CJ!!! Always watching your videos and liking!!! Subscribed to you and Luke!! You’re both hero’s of the industry and we appreciate your sacrifice more than I could ever express!! Keep it up guys!!! Godbless the Chesapeake and all its fishermen and their families
As a fellow Marylander who has always been on the bay. I would say jo is better to cook with while old bay is much better to use on things after they are cooked like corn, potatoes, crabs, and in crab cakes. Both are good I don't prefer one over the other
I'm in Mississippi. We use Zatarains crab boil. (Dry and liquid). It's plenty salty thats for sure. There are a lot of brands similar. We use it for crabs, shrimp and crawfish. I prefer to crack the claws and split them in half and seasoned for steam. For boiled, you need to kill the boil quick with some ice and let them soak until they float.
@FV Miss Paula i don't use ice down here in Louisiana we purge them in water get dirt off anoil em in water zatarains and different spices and seasonings
I always have Old Bay and Jo 1 and 2 in the house. I usually use Jo #2 but when it gets low, I'll mix it in a bowl with old Bay and/or JO #1. When I'm craving crabs, any combination is fine with me.
Located in Calif. and eating Dungeness Crabs. This is the first time I have ever heard of JO. Something else I noticed was I clean them first then crack the shell so the Old Bay gets into the meat as I steam it. Most the time my crab was boiled in salt water to cook. Then frozen. I defrost, clean and steam to reheat. I have never had Blue Crab.
Captain CJ do yall ever boil your crabs. Here in South Carolina we boil are crabs a lot. And they are aways juicer and we love to turn are crab upside down after cooking them and it catches all the juice from inside the Crab and that way the juice can be suck out wile eating the 🦀.. But I just enjoy eating blue crab just about any way I can eat them.. 😋. Love the video Captin CJ..
I always thought it didn't make sense to pour so much seasoning on crabs while steaming, no seasoning gets on crabmeat. When you clean the blue crab and boil it in seasoned water your crabmeat is soaking in flavor. Makes more sense to me to boil them or at least take the top shell off and get seasoning in the crab before steaming.
It's the best way to eat crabs in my opinion but it's more just the way we do it. No way is right or wrong just preference. As long as your eating them who cares.
Old Bay is the seasoning that you use when you don’t have the ability to use your own spices and have dead taste buds . Might as well cook crabs using diesel fuel. It would probably taste better.
Old Bay is good but it's a 1/1 mix of old bay and kosher salt, plus a few other things, it's too much work and more expensive .... JO#2 is definitely the way to go. But don't ever run out of Old Bay and try to steam shrimp with JO#2! It don't work, might as well eat a salt shaker! ... Ask me how I know! 😂
Thank you so much. I love to go crabbing happen to be very it. Not into good at it. I don't eat seafood. But sometimes it's ok if done right. You opened my eyes. I want to try again... ty @ lease you help me. 🎉
J.O. #2 has more salt and is really only for steaming crabs. The salt helps the seasoning stick to the shell. J.O. #1 is similar to Old Bay and is used on anything.
You fellas ever tried using a lobster trap to catch crab ? Always wondered that , I lobster in downeast maine and our seasons just getting ready to start. Same concept as your traps but a bit longer and a bit heavier. We catch a lot of jonah crabs in the spring and fall.
@@FVMissPaula gotcha! Yeah I’m down by bar harbor never heard anyone around me catching one but guys in the southern part of the state caught a few. Anyways good luck this season and if your ever up this way and want to haul some traps let me know !
Can you freeze raw crabs and steam? I seem to pick up a few here and there and put them together. Have a few raw cleaned crabs in freezer. Any ideas or is it worth it? Dont get enough to cook sometimes why they are frozen raw.
With respect you are nuts! Old Bay Rocks! JO is just OB lite with more salt. And salt is practically free! Put those pots in the water and Get to work! Caught my first crab today!
North carlonia is a third world country no jo I use old bay and kosher salt it's not bad crabs aren't as good like md green mustard first batch I made in 2018 look like Grey sewer water
I love how the jo seasoning started to fall off exactly as the old bay seasoning did and he tried to cover it up. Lmao
I know, right???
yeah, i don't buy any of the theory about the flake salt. all i know is JO's blend tastes better by a significant margin.
If you want the seasoning to stick better on the crabs, add dry mustard to the seasoning.
When I first started buying and cooking crabs in college I’d do a 4:1 ratio of Old Bay to kosher salt. I had never heard of JO. Later on I discovered JO#2 and that became my standard. Nowadays I do JO#2 with some extra black pepper and mustard powder added to it - inspired by your video showing some of the Wye seasoning blends. Last year I tried out the Louisiana crawfish boil approach …it was good but suffice to say I will never boil crabs again. Boiling is for lobster and crawfish. I use Old Bay on potatoes, chicken, waterfowl and of course in my cornflakes and toothpaste every morning.
Yeah Black Pepper and Dry Mustard is a good idea.
When I do eat crabs(blue crabs) in OCMD or at home. I eat them over that brown paper so, all the seasoning J.O#2 or Old Bay ends up all over that which becomes your work surface. So they end up with seasoning on the meat for the most part
I thought I’ve heard every US accent there is but this one is new to me. ☺️
I think Baltimorese is the original Accent.
❤ you capt CJ!!! Always watching your videos and liking!!! Subscribed to you and Luke!! You’re both hero’s of the industry and we appreciate your sacrifice more than I could ever express!! Keep it up guys!!! Godbless the Chesapeake and all its fishermen and their families
As a fellow Marylander who has always been on the bay. I would say jo is better to cook with while old bay is much better to use on things after they are cooked like corn, potatoes, crabs, and in crab cakes. Both are good I don't prefer one over the other
I think they all have their place for sure but steamed crabs always get J.O. #2 if I'm cooking them.
I'm in Mississippi. We use Zatarains crab boil. (Dry and liquid). It's plenty salty thats for sure. There are a lot of brands similar. We use it for crabs, shrimp and crawfish.
I prefer to crack the claws and split them in half and seasoned for steam. For boiled, you need to kill the boil quick with some ice and let them soak until they float.
Thanks for the info. I've seen Zatarains before. How long does it take after the ice to get them to float?
@FV Miss Paula i don't use ice down here in Louisiana we purge them in water get dirt off anoil em in water zatarains and different spices and seasonings
I always have Old Bay and Jo 1 and 2 in the house. I usually use Jo #2 but when it gets low, I'll mix it in a bowl with old Bay and/or JO #1. When I'm craving crabs, any combination is fine with me.
Well said.
This guy knows what he’s doing 👍
Thank you for the comparison, You are the first person to show me the difference.
J.O. all the way Captain. Very nice breakdown of the two seasonings! Great Job!
Nope
Located in Calif. and eating Dungeness Crabs. This is the first time I have ever heard of JO. Something else I noticed was I clean them first then crack the shell so the Old Bay gets into the meat as I steam it. Most the time my crab was boiled in salt water to cook. Then frozen. I defrost, clean and steam to reheat. I have never had Blue Crab.
J.O. ships to all 50 states. If you're using Old Bay try J.O. #1. It's not as salty as #2.
Old bay on a corn cob is something else
I want someone to feed me crabmeat like that!!! 😂
😆kids don't know how good they have it.
Official Taste Tester.
@@brankohodzic so true!
@@FVMissPaula perfect job 👍🏻
LOL @ your glasses steaming up when you took the top off.
Hot crabs are the Best
Captain CJ do yall ever boil your crabs.
Here in South Carolina we boil are crabs a lot. And they are aways juicer and we love to turn are crab upside down after cooking them and it catches all the juice from inside the Crab and that way the juice can be suck out wile eating the 🦀..
But I just enjoy eating blue crab just about any way I can eat them.. 😋.
Love the video Captin CJ..
No we never boil them. I have had them and they were good. Don't care how ya eat em as long as you do.
@@FVMissPaula thanks Cj.
When will yall be dropping your first set in the water.
Soon. Weather has been all over the place.
I like JO too, but let's not knock Old Bay for selling to McCormick - still a proud Merlin brand, hon!
Would love to speak with you guys in regards to purchasing whole sale love crabs
You can message me on any social media or fvmisspaula@gmail.com
Have you used you new cooker yet CJ ....how do you like it?
Works really well.
JO 2!
In December u cooked frozen crabs but they were o ly frozen 3 or so weeks now its may were they as good
Yeah surprisingly good. Probably be cause I haven't had any since December. Meat wasn't dry.
I don’t care both of them taste good
JO tastes superior and it's not even close
old bay season a bushel would cost $40, JO 's is the best
Very true.
Have you ever tried making your own bet you could do better then both of them
JO sucks compared to Old Bay. Old bay has 18 different spices and herbs while JO is bland and is mostly all pepper and salt.
Oh yes... J.O.#2 on crabs. Old Bay has its place on shrimp and corn on the cob. (steamed with the crabs of course, or roasted on the grill)
I always thought it didn't make sense to pour so much seasoning on crabs while steaming, no seasoning gets on crabmeat. When you clean the blue crab and boil it in seasoned water your crabmeat is soaking in flavor. Makes more sense to me to boil them or at least take the top shell off and get seasoning in the crab before steaming.
It's the best way to eat crabs in my opinion but it's more just the way we do it. No way is right or wrong just preference. As long as your eating them who cares.
I have to agree! Jo #2 is much better for crabs, but Old Bay is much easier to find (atleast on the other side of the bridge)
My local grocery store has a good selection and the JO store is in Halethorpe.
Old Bay is the seasoning that you use when you don’t have the ability to use your own spices and have dead taste buds . Might as well cook crabs using diesel fuel. It would probably taste better.
I'll have to give that JO a taste test when I visit Delaware this fall. Great comparison video. 👍👍
My first summer job was in a crab house
I still use the JO recipe . JO1 pretzel salt and a mix of other ingredients
I use JO to cook the crabs but to dip the meat in I’ll use old bay I think it taste better
Yeah it works good that way.
Mmmmm, can't wait to dig into a bushel of crabs 👍🙏❤️😎🛥️
Old Bay is good but it's a 1/1 mix of old bay and kosher salt, plus a few other things, it's too much work and more expensive .... JO#2 is definitely the way to go. But don't ever run out of Old Bay and try to steam shrimp with JO#2! It don't work, might as well eat a salt shaker! ... Ask me how I know! 😂
😂How do you know?
Yeah #2 is not for everything.
Your accent makes me homesick, hon. Goin downy oshin.
Glad we could bring you back.
@@liamlad1 only someone from Bawlmer would understand what you said hon! ☺️☺️
Thank you so much. I love to go crabbing happen to be very it. Not into good at it. I don't eat seafood. But sometimes it's ok if done right. You opened my eyes. I want to try again... ty @ lease you help me. 🎉
I have been using J.O. for 30 years, I absolutely love it!
Those who know…👍
@@brankohodzic Are wrong from the start. lol
I been using old bay for 47 years!!!!!
You should No Better !!! Hell NO ! Frozin Crabs YOUR Nuts .
The ultimate steaming secret is to use beer instead of water. Gives it a whole new dimension of flavor.
forget beer, WINE!!!
Im from Connecticut we use old bay.
I have not seen any merch yet. Any idea when it will be out?
Thanks for asking. We are getting it together now and will be launching in a few weeks. Stay tuned.
I thought i put the jo on thick. You cover them bad boys thick!
im switching to J O
Did you know that the ingredients in Old Bay is different on a vintage can my (My moms) then the ones they sell now?
Interesting. I thought it was the same recipe from the 40s.
Love the videos ! NOW GTW
Thank you. I will.
Awesome Information. “GET TO WORK!”
Thank you. GTW
Informative! Never thought about freezing them.
Works great. Steamed Crabs Forever.
Best Crabber in the World showing us how to Steam the best Crabs in the World!
Crabs forever, perfect.
That was an awesome moment.
we always boil em down here i need to get some JO and try to steam some
Combine them both together and it’s amazing
Nothing beats old bay
Brilliant
As soon as I heard this guy’s accent, I knew I could trust his opinion about Baltimore crabs
What Accent? 😂
J,O is Salty Kompare to Old Bay I Personally Did The Test My Self..
J.O. #2 has more salt and is really only for steaming crabs. The salt helps the seasoning stick to the shell. J.O. #1 is similar to Old Bay and is used on anything.
I meant to say J.O #2 lol
You fellas ever tried using a lobster trap to catch crab ? Always wondered that , I lobster in downeast maine and our seasons just getting ready to start. Same concept as your traps but a bit longer and a bit heavier. We catch a lot of jonah crabs in the spring and fall.
Our pots can only be 2×2. I've heard of Blue Crabs being caught up there lobstering.
@@FVMissPaula gotcha! Yeah I’m down by bar harbor never heard anyone around me catching one but guys in the southern part of the state caught a few. Anyways good luck this season and if your ever up this way and want to haul some traps let me know !
Thanks for the offer. Hope you guys have a good season too.
Can you freeze raw crabs and steam? I seem to pick up a few here and there and put them together. Have a few raw cleaned crabs in freezer. Any ideas or is it worth it? Dont get enough to cook sometimes why they are frozen raw.
Yes you can freeze them Raw cleaned or whole. You have to steam them longer.
Excellent question! So many times in the past, I didn't catch enough to make it worth while keepin em. Never knew...
@@FVMissPaula Thanks Boss
With respect you are nuts! Old Bay Rocks! JO is just OB lite with more salt. And salt is practically free! Put those pots in the water and Get to work! Caught my first crab today!
To each his own. We are getting there. Seems cold to be catching them for you.
North carlonia is a third world country no jo I use old bay and kosher salt it's not bad crabs aren't as good like md green mustard first batch I made in 2018 look like Grey sewer water
JO has a website or our Amazon store Www.amazon.com/shop/fvmisspaula