Cooking
Clayton’s crabs are cooked in huge steamers, the design of which has not changed much through the years. These 4' x 6' cookers continuously steam batches of 20 bushels at 250 degrees for exactly 12 minutes. Temperature and timing are critical. If either overcooked or undercooked, the crabmeat is not as tasty and is more difficult to extract from the shell.

Picking
Cooking and picking crabmeat is the primary focus of our plant operation. Over the years The J. M. Clayton Company has employed many local and very colorful crab pickers, from the legendary Fronie Jones to Donald Cephas, the fastest claw picker on the Eastern Shore.

Crab picking is a tedious task never thoroughly mastered by machine. To this day, picking by hand is surprisingly still the best and most efficient method of removing meat from the crab. An experienced picker can clean a bushel of crabs in about an hour, yielding 25 to 40 pounds of crabmeat each day.

Picking crabs was traditionally a family occupation. As soon as they were old enough, children would learn the art from their mothers. Pickers were proud of their profession and eagerly handed it down through the generations. Yet, finding and keeping trained crab pickers has become an ongoing challenge. Clayton’s often subsidizes its domestic picking staff with seasonal employees from other countries.

Packing
At Clayton's, our crabmeat is packed using the best methods available. Our pasteurized crabmeat is sealed in airtight containers and cooked in a 188º hot water bath. This allows the product to retain its freshness for months at refrigerated temperatures.

Our fresh crabmeat is inspected and iced ASAP to ensure the best product available. Our frozen crabmeat is frozen as fast as possible using Nitrogen to reach temperatures below 100º. This stabilizes the meat without suffering any breakdown in taste or texture. Thawed slowly and prepared with your favorite recipe, or eaten right out of the container, it is as good as fresh.