Maryland Crab Soup

Testing the soup out before taking it to Chris :)

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, MD crab soup doesn't seem to be a "standard" recipe - I found many variations, some of which had basically no vegetables, while other had so many veggies I wondered how in the world you would taste the crab! One called for cabbage, and another wanted me to chase live crabs around my kitchen. So, after combining many recipes and ideas, this is the recipe I finally landed on - and it was AWESOME! It makes a ton of soup.... but we did not mind eating it for multiple days!!

Ingredients

2 quarts of water (+1-2 more cups at the end, depending on how "soupy" you like your soup)

1 can chicken broth

2+ tbps Old Bay

1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

1 tbps sugar

2 cups diced tomatoes
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (we use Frank's)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup diced onion
2 cups cubed red potato
1 okra, chopped
1 lb lump crab meat
salt and pepper
chopped parsley (for garnish)

Directions

1. Bring water to boil, add chicken broth, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, sugar. Stir until mixed well.

2. Add tomatoes and hot sauce.

3. Add carrots, celery, corn, onion, potatoes, okra. Bring to low boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add a little salt and pepper. Taste broth and add more water, hot sauce, or seasonings depending on how spicy/ soupy/ etc you like it!

5. Add crabmeat and mix well. Bring back to boil.

6. Cover and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!