Sunday, June 6, 2010

Weekend Eats at the Jersey Shore - Crab Shack Brick, NJ




I love this time of year and I love eating outside on the patio - sans the annoying flies!  This weekend we enjoyed some local seafood - steamed crabs and grilled clams.  We got the crabs already steamed and seasoned from The Crab Shack in Brick, NJ.  The place is really a shack as its name implies but has some great local crabs and other seafood at reasonable prices.  I find it charming that you can dine at wooden tables right next to big bushels of live crabs!  We also picked up a couple of dozen little neck clans to grill up.  I love that the clams tell you when they are done.  Simply place them on a hot grill and once they open up, they are done - no guesswork involved.  Serve them with a little drawn butter and enjoy!  The crabs are a little messy and involve a little work, but are so good. 


I  also made homemade barbecued pulled pork sandwiches for the first time and they were just delicious.  I may insult Southerners who can make great traditional pulled pork but I was happy with the results.   I bought a boneless pork shoulder, brined it overnight (in a Ziploc), then seasoned it with a dry spice rub, popped it in  the crock pot with Emeril's wet mop sauce and after six hours on low we had perfect crumbly and delicious pork.  The weather was so hot, that it was nice to use the crock pot and not heat up the whole kitchen.  I mixed the pulled pork with Hoboken Eddie's barbecue sauce and served it on a roll topped with coleslaw.  As much as we had of the pork, it sure disappeared fast!  Delicious! 

The dry rub and brine solution are from the blog kevinandamanda.com.  Thank you!
Dry Rub
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Brine Solution (I halved the recipe)

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 qts cold water
1 1/2 tbsp dry rub mix
1 bay leaf

10 comments:

  1. Now you've gone and made me homesick for Point Pleasant and Cape May. This was great walk through summer shore food and barbecue. I love every word and picture of it. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  2. Oooh, I love summer eats -- everything looks incredible! I think I'm going to make these BBQ pulled sandwiches, but with beef instead of pork. I'm seriously craving BBQ now! :)

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  3. I haven't yet made my first trip of the year down to the shore, but now I can't wait to get there and dig into some of these tempting foods. I love your pulled pork idea for a hot day when you don't want to heat up the house.

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  4. sounds like you had a feast! that pork sandwich sounds amazing; I need to try this method I love to order it at bbq joints but it is always so much better homemade!

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  5. Yumm, Look at those meaty clams! Your pulled pork sandwich looks amazing Jen, love that you made it in the crockpot!

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  6. Haven't been to the shore yet....just came back from the Hamptons, lobster galore.....can't wait to have pizza at Leggett's in Manasquan (and their sushi is so good!).

    Stacey

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  7. This post made me crave seafood and pulled pork. Great photos.

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  8. You made the pork in a crock pot! Why didn't I think of that? Going to try it - it just looks delicious. (I am coveting the clams and crabs...willing them to MN). I met Amanda form Kevinandamanda on the Bertolli trip. What fun to see her rub and brine here!

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  9. the pulled pork looks amazing. i grew up in monmouth county for the most part, so i'll have to look around here. in fact, i just noticed your listing for Samaha's in Aberdeen. Our house was about half a mile from there, and Samaha's was our local spot to pick up fresh veggies. I honestly would have assumed it was gone by now -- haven't been back there in some time. I've been meaning to try Flaky Tart. My mom still lives in the region, and I still go to the Jersey Shore, so I get to check stuff out when I'm down there.

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  10. Wow...that's good food to me! Love that plate of crabs. I miss that here. A friend once gave me a few crabs here. My gosh.....they were so big and the shells were so thick, unlike the thin shelled ones here in the picture, just like what we also find back home. Well, it was so difficult to clean and cook them. By the time I'm done with them, I have completely lost my appetite! I think I'd rather eat prawns :D

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