Chesapeake seafood reigns supreme September 7 and 8 at the 52nd Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Point State Park. Chesapeake Bay Magazine will be there, as we were last year and years before, to slurp crab soup and render our opinion during the famous crab soup cook-off on Saturday starting at 11:30. You should be too.
Our 2018 choice over all categories was La Prima Chef Kyle Vermeulen’s Voodoo Crab Soup, which won the alternative crab soup people’s choice award. Vermeulen’s team also crushed the vegetable crab soup competition, but we circled back for the Voodoo, again and again. Here’s the recipe:
Voodoo Crab Soup
Courtesy of Chef Kyle Vermeulen, LaPrimaCatering.com
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Yellow onion
- 2 or 3 stalks of Celery
- 1 bell pepper
- 8 tbsp Unsalted butter
- ½ cup Flour
- 2 cloves Garlic (chopped)
- 2 ½ tbsp Creole spice (Tony Chachere’s or Joe’s Stuff
from the New Orleans School of Cooking) - 1 lb. Andouille Sausage
- 3 cups Clam Juice
- 1 ½ cups Beef Stock
- 1 large tomato (chopped)
- 1 ½ tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
- ½ tsp Fish Sauce
- Dash of Liquid Smoke
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 lb. Maryland Jumbo Lump Crabmeat
Preparation
- Slowly cook butter and flour together to make a dark roux.
- Sauté onions, celery, and peppers in butter for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, Cajun spice mix and andouille sausage and sauté for 10 more minutes. Set aside.
- Whisk clam juice and beef stock into the roux until boiling and thick.
- Add sautéed vegetable/sausage mixture to the roux and set aside.
- Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the crabmeat and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes.
- Add the crabmeat and cook for 5 minutes.
CBM recommends pairing with Union Craft Brewing’s Skipjack pilsner.
2019 Maryland Seafood Festival
Sandy Point State Park, September 7 & 8
Saturday 10:00 to 9:00 / Sunday: 10:00 to 7:00
Live music, chef demos, crab soup cookoff, crab cake eating contest, beer & oyster tasting, fireworks, crab picking contest, the Kidz Zone, the Fishmobile, Entertainment Avenue, the beach, Chesapeake arts & crafts, ATMs, all kinds of seafood and other food vendors, beer, and drinks.
Admission: Advance VIP tent $65 or $120 per couple. Includes VIP tent access, beer, wine, soda, water. General $15. Seniors & military with ID, $10. Kids 12 and under, FREE
