Lofton Creek Seafood

Story and photos by Valerie. As printed on the Food Page in a September '08 edition of The Union-Recorder.

Ricky Davis, owner of Lofton Creek Seafood in Yulee, Fla., knows more about his trade than most roadside marketers might. A native of Florida and a self-made man, he left the construction business a few years ago and was hired on as a deck hand on a local shrimp boat off of Fernandina Beach, Fla. With quick hands and careful feet, he worked his way through several successful runs as a shrimper without landing in the warm waters off the Florida coast.

“We’d let out the nets and in one haul we’d have tons of fish and sea creatures to pick through,” Ricky said with an “I’ve-seen-it-all” nod. As the main catch on this particular boat was shrimp, most everything else went overboard. A crowd of dolphins and sharks followed the boat snapping up whatever went back in the water. “There were times when the sharks were so thick, we could have walked across their backs and kept dry,” he said with a smile noting that they ranged in size from 3- to 6-feet in length.

Staying out on a boat sometimes within sight of shore for days at a time is a lesson in patience and stamina. “We don’t go in until the captain says so,” Ricky warns. “We’d work 22 on and 2 off sometimes if the haul was good.”

A chance encounter changed his life about a year ago when he opened a permanent market a couple of miles across the Georgia border into Florida. Situated a few miles off of Interstate 95 on Florida’s A1A and less than 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, Ricky’s seafood is probably the freshest around. Several regulars popped by to pick up a few pounds of shrimp and still others dropped in waiting for the daily crab haul to be delivered while I waited to talk with him.

Although they sell a myriad of seafood and can quickly order specialty fish for customers, Lofton Creek’s biggest sellers are jumbo shrimp and live crab. Both are readily accessible locally and quickly transported from ship to shore to ensure safety and quality.

Ricky said that folks come from all over to buy from him and have transported shrimp as far away as Utah. “If you’re going to travel more than a couple of hours, head the shrimp, shell them and then ice them,” he said. “They’ll keep a lot longer.” Heading the shrimp means “popping” the heads off with a quick snap with your fingers or a sharp knife, if one desires. Deveining shrimp is done quickly and easily with a knife or an inexpensive deveining tool found at many grocery or department stores. Removal of the back vein provides a cleaner flavor and makes shelling shrimp easier.

To avoid overcooking shrimp, only cook them a few minutes until they turn orange and the meat is no longer clear. This will ensure a more delicate texture and flavor rather than the tough, stringy texture associated with overcooked seafood.

Fresh crabs are both easy to prepare and incredibly yummy to eat. Our trips to St. Mary’s and Jekyll Island usually produce a dozen or so crabs for a meal, but this trip we didn’t fare as well and resorted to dropping by Lofton Creek Seafood to fill in the gaps. As I waited on the two boxes of live blue crab to be delivered, I chatted with Ricky and gleaned a little more seafood expertise.

Blue crabs are plentiful in the Atlantic and along the Gulf Coast. They’re about 4 to 6-inches across and a muddy blue to bright blue in color. They’re aggressive and when stealing bait will hold on even when dragged across the surface of the water on the end of a fishing line. Many times we’ve pulled in these little water skiers as they cling fiercely to a hunk of squid attached to our hook.

To lift them up to the fishing pier, we dangle a crab basket over the side at water level and haul them up. If, perchance, one grabs hold of your finger, let it dangle in the air. The little devils can’t support their own weight and will quickly fall to the ground. Be sure to grab them from behind out of harm’s way or use a set of kitchen tongs to do the deed.

The main rule of thumb when dealing with fresh crabs is if it ain’t crawlin’, it ain’t cookin’. To safely transport live crabs, either bag them in burlap and keep them cool or if you’re traveling more than a couple of hours away, ice them down. The cold sends them into a sort of suspended animation and will keep them fresh for cooking. If a crab dies in transport, the choice is yours. If you know it was alive when you got it, cooking it should be fine. If you’re unsure, toss it.

Crab is great boiled or steamed. For a good steam, pour 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup beer, 3 bay leaves and 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning into a deep pot. Place a rack about an inch above the liquid. Bring liquid to a boil and add live crab to the rack. Cover and return to a boil. Steam crabs about 10 to 15 minutes until they turn bright red.

To clean a cooked crab, flip it onto its back and remove the apron by lifting and pulling. It will snap off easily. The apron is a “U” or “V” shaped piece on the bottom of the crab. Flip the crab over and pry off the top shell.

Using a sharp knife cut off the head and carefully scrape away the feathery gills and two spongy-looking strips. Ricky warns these are called devil fingers and can make one very ill if eaten.
Thoroughly rinse crab under running water and remove any other interior oddities leaving the white meat intact. Crack crab in half and pick meat out to dip in a tasty sauce or use in a favorite recipe.

Crab meat is categorized into lump meat or backfin which are large chunks taken from the backfin and are usually the most expensive; special or regular which are the small white flakes taken from the body of the crab; and claw meat which is darker and richer in flavor and is usually the least expensive. Lump or backfin give a pretty appearance to recipes.

While hard-shell crabs need to be picked of their meat, soft-shell crabs can be eaten whole after cleaning and cooking. In order to grow, blue crabs shed their shell much like a snake sheds its skin. After molting, the crab’s new shell is soft and remains so for only a couple of hours. If left in the water, the shell will harden. Soft-shell crabs are harvested, properly cleaned and frozen for consumer use.

Whether you buy seafood from the local supermarket or from a clean and well-run roadside market like Lofton Creek Seafood from our new friend Ricky, enjoying a well-prepared meal with plenty of flavor and variety should be a little easier with a few of these helpful tips.

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Recipes

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Seafood Bisque

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery1 pound fresh crab meat

1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seafood Seasoning

1/4 pound cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 fresh shrimp, cleaned and

1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 teaspoon parsley

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cups sherry

Melt butter in skillet. Sauté onion and celery until clear. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until steaming. Serve with garlic and cheese biscuits. Reheats well.

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Shrimp and Crab Creole

1 large sweet onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup green pepper, diced

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup okra, sliced into rounds

4 Tablespoons bacon grease

1/2 pound crab meat, cleaned

1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned

16-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

dash of hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

cooked rice

In large skillet, sauté onions, garlic, green pepper, celery and okra in bacon fat until tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.