Clayton Tour

[gatorgrits]

Just a few pictures of the J.M.Clayton crab processing plant.
Great weather and a good time .

[gatorgrits]

Picture upload didn't work----will post later.

Buddy

[gatorgrits]

[gatorgrits]

This is getting old[smile]

Another try[grin]

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=55283555/a=73690817_73690817/fromupload=true/t_=73690817

Click on link-----if this didn't work I'm hitting the showers![grin][grin]

[gatorgrits]

Getting closer.

After clicking on the link you must use a password.

It is---------------------sebring

[Burchbeer]

Buddy,
Thanks again for arranging the tour at Claytons. It was very informative.
It was a great day, with good folks!

I am looking forward to CF next Sunday and seeing all the TF gang then.

DB

[POLECAT]

Buddy,
Thanks for organizing the trip. Everyone had a great time and we all learned a few things about this fun sport.

[rj]

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[Fat Jimmy]

I'll tell you one thing, i've picked a lot of crabs this summer, but there's no way in hell I could ever sit there and do it all day!

[Roger T]

Wow looks there all mexicans,go figure.

[Dae]

Buddy, like the others said, Thanks for orginizing the trip.

As for the others on the trip, it was nice meeting everyone and I hope to see y'all again sometime soon.

- Dae

[Capt. Dale]

Thanks again Buddy.
A big THANK YOU to Dae for the ride over and the nice side trip to see his 28 foot Hydro Sport at Gootee's plus the afternoon ride to Hooper Island. Was a great day for me.

FYI: those ladies pick on average between 19-40 lbs of crab meat a day with no shells !!
With the average basket of crabs weighting 40 lbs
and a average yield 12.5% meat to the basket thats 5lbs of meat to the basket thats a lot of crab cakes[smile]

[Roger T]

A very hard job I'm shure.Must be back breaking work picking through those crabs.Thanks for posting the pictures.

[JB Crabs]

Buddy, Thanks for everything. Beth and I really enjoyed the tour. The information shared was great.

John

[Bob H.]

That wheel barrow of steamed crabs looks good!

[Butthead]

A Question for those that attended...Just curious

By the looks of all of those uncooked crabs that were in the large steaming basket...this questions comes to mind.....do those guys cull through each individual crab before going in the pot to check for mortality? seems like alot of culling to me. I wonder how many dead crabs get cooked?

[Swamp]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

Good question Butthead.

[rj]

BH
I did not take this tour but I have been in the picking houses (not Clayton)when the crabs came in from the boats,,they were placed on a scale and weighed (the waterman got paid by the pound)and then dumped dirrecrly into the steamer baskets, no culling and no discards, then into the steamer

[POLECAT]

''I wonder how many dead crabs get cooked?''

Rod,
I can answer that question............ All of the crabs that are dead are steamed. The packing company considers them (dead ones caught that morning) to be fresh enough and safe enough to cook for 15 minutes at 250* F at 15 PSI steam pressure. All of what goes into those 20 bushel tubs are then placed into a steamer (two tubs at a time) and then sent into the picking room or onto the mechanical pickers.

Some of the meat gets pasturized and some of it does not. That is determined by the needs of the customer.

This tour was very interesting and informative. I recommend it to anyone that is involved in the sport of crabbing.

[tomytek]

Nice pics. I wish I could have gone. All of a sudden I have this craving for some crab cakes. I just wonder how the crabs cook evenly in such a huge basket. I could not imagine picking crabs all day long. I would have a hard time trying not to eat while picking them. It would be like having crabfest everyday. All you need is a cooler full of beer and you are set. Now I have a craving for a cold beer. When does happy hour start. [grin]

[MarkTakacs]

I would think that any crabs caught that morning and were dead at the time of steaming would not pose any health threat

I wonder if the 'quality' and 'no shell' signs are able to be read anymore?

Poor females.................not the ones picking.

By the way.........Dungenous crabs in Alaska........no females aloud to be harvested.

Mark