Crabs, Hurricanes, and Holly Beach

Story, photos and recipes by Cynthia Nobles

Two of Darla Rose Faul’s great passions are the tiny Cameron Parish community of Holly Beach and the famously big crabs that live there. This past June, Darla paid homage to her hurricane-ravaged town and its favorite crustacean by organizing the
“First Annual Holly Beach Crab Festival.” 

The festivities included a crab cookoff. She asked me to be a judge. It did not take me a nanosecond to say “yes”!

As most southwest Louisiana seafood lovers know, the brackish lakes and marshes between Lake Charles and the “Cajun Riviera” teem with crabs. It was therefore not surprising that on the napalm-hot day of the festival, the canals along Highway 27 down to Holly Beach were dotted with pockets of people crabbing. Some tried their luck with old tried-and-true strings and chicken necks. Others hauled in crabs with rods and reels and drop nets. White plastic jugs bobbed down the middle of many canals. Those jugs were the property of commercial fishermen, who typically use catfish carcasses and menhaden for bait.

Worldwide, there are some 4,500 species of crab. Several kinds live in our coastal waters, but the main crab caught here commercially is the Atlantic Blue crab. The blue crab’s scientific name is Callinectes sapidus, which translates to “savory beautiful swimmer.”  

These decapods are found in coastal waters stretching from Nova Scotia all the way down to Argentina. In Louisiana, blue crabs bite best from May through September. Crabs eat just about anything, including dead fish, plants, and smaller blue crabs. These indiscriminate dining habits helps clean our waters and keep the ecosystem in balance.

Blue crabs have been harvested commercially in Louisiana since at least the 1800s. Peyton Cagle, Crustacean Program Manager at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, says Louisiana has some 1,300 active commercial crab fishermen, and that they harvest more crabs than anyone in the U.S. Typically landing over 40 million pounds per year, our state provides about one-quarter of the country’s total take.

Some 3,000 jobs depend on crabbing, which generates almost $300 million a year. 
According to Cagle, our soft-shell crab market is mainly located in central and eastern Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida severely damaged that industry. He says that soft shell production is down from 20 years ago, but more people are looking into selling soft shell crabs as a business option. 

Cagle says that hard-shell crab fishing is in relatively good shape, with the “Louisiana blue crab stock … not experiencing overfishing or exceeding the fishing mortality target.” 

The majority of commercial crabs are fished in the eastern part of the state around Lake Pontchartrain and down to the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds. Many come from Cameron Parish. Some even come from around Holly Beach.

When I reached Holly Beach, I was shocked to see that the coffee-colored sand of many childhood vacations was almost white. A deposit of white sand has been found several miles out in the Gulf. Some of that sand has been barged onto the beach, and it helps brighten an area that has been darkened by more than its share of landfalling hurricanes.  

Holly Beach has been rebuilt many times, including after Hurricane Audrey leveled it in 1957. More recently, Hurricane Rita landed in 2005, and 2008 was the year of Hurricane Ike. When Hurricanes Laura and Delta hammered Holly Beach in 2020, there were whispers that the beloved Gulf town would never come back. This unshakable community, however, is proving that rumor wrong.

Along streets with names like Mallard, Teal, and Porpoise, some 80 colorful, sturdy-looking camps have been repaired and constructed. There are, as expected, many vacant lots, but they are kept mowed. For the public, port-a-lets are kept refreshingly clean, and campers pitch tents and throw frisbees along that white-sand beach.

There are no grocery stores, bars, or restaurants, but the venerable Meaux’s Seafood is still going strong. On the day I was there, the little market was flush with gigantic crabs.

Before the noon crab cooking competition began, I moseyed through the festival’s 6-lot area of food and souvenir trucks. Against a backdrop of lively DJ music, festival-goers slurped on snow cones, played “crab bingo,” competed in crab races, and drank beer. Someone told me bigger crowds were expected that evening. That’s when the Get Right Ramblers would crank it up, and when the free boiled crabs would be served.

“Many folks here,” Darla Faul said, “are from other states. But most live here or were here before the storms. A lot just have some sort of sentimental Holly Beach attachment.” 

Years ago, Darla and her husband, Steve, retired to Holly Beach from Texas. For the past couple of years, the couple has worked hard to bring back the small town’s carefree past. Aside from bonding around crabs, Darla is certain that a path to Holly Beach’s full recovery involves music. She and Steve have connections with many Texas-based bands. Just about every other week last summer they arranged for free live entertainment on an empty lot behind their Holly Beach trailer. 

It was time for the cooking contest. I gleefully dug into entries of crab cakes, fried crabs, gumbo, maque choux, mac and cheese, a couple of stews, and a few dips. The winner was a golden-brown, overstuffed crab. The close second was a perfectly grilled whole one. The food entries were incredibly good. The live music that followed was first-rate, and it put everyone in the mood to sing and dance.  

Yes, the festival honored crabs. But on that scorching day in June there were strong hints of community rebirth. Although only half of Holly Beach’s buildings are rebuilt, full-time residents are 100 percent ready to get back to normal. Darla hoped the festival would lure in those who are still afraid to come back. She was not disappointed.

“Recovering from structural devastation takes time,” she said. “But when old friends get together for beer, music, conversation, and crabs, things can happen fast.”
And will there be a Second Annual Holly Beach Crab Festival. Darla flashed a wide grin. “You bet.”
 

 
Do you have a Louisiana agriculture story or a recipe you’d like to share? Contact me at [email protected].
 
Cynthia Nobles is the cookbook editor for LSU Press and the author/co-author of several historical cookbooks, including A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook, The Delta Queen Cookbook, and The Fonville Winans Cookbook.
 
 
Crabmeat Salad
Makes 24 hors d’eouvres, or 4-6 entrée salad servings. 
 
This simple recipe lets the taste of lump crabmeat shine. It can be served on crackers, in oriental-style ceramic spoons, or stuffed in avocados or tomatoes.
 
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
¼ cup minced green onions, plus additional for garnish
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, cartilage and shell carefully removed
 
1. Make dressing in a large glass bowl by combining mayonnaise, sour cream, ¼ cup green onions, lemon juice, celery salt, and black pepper. Can be made 1 day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.
2. Up to 3 hours before serving, mix crabmeat with mayonnaise mixture and chill until ready to use. Serve garnished with green onions.
 
 
Crab and Corn Bisque
Makes 4 appetizer servings
 
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1½ cups seafood or chicken stock
1½ cups heavy cream
¾ teaspoon salt
Cayenne pepper to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
½ pound fresh lump crabmeat
¼ cup chopped green onions
 
1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in flour, then the stock. Bring to a boil.
2. Slowly stir in the cream, salt, and pepper. When mixture comes to a quick simmer, add corn, bring back to a simmer, and cook 2 minutes. Gently stir in crab and cook just until the sides start to bubble. Ladle into bowls and top with green onions. Serve hot.
 
 
Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Bell Peppers
Makes 8 servings
 
4 large bell peppers, plus 1 cup chopped
1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and coarsely chopped
Salt and cayenne pepper
Juice from 1 lemon
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked rice
½ cup sour cream or mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1 pound crabmeat
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
 
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut off tops of bell peppers. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and boil them 5 minutes. Remove from water and drain.
2. Place shrimp in a bowl and toss with salt, cayenne, and lemon juice. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high and stir in the onion, celery, and 1 cup chopped bell pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the shrimp and garlic and cook until shrimp turn pink, 2-3 minutes. 
3. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the rice, sour cream, parsley, Creole seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Stir in the beaten egg. Gently fold in the crab meat. Mound the mixture into the boiled pepper halves. 
4. Combine the bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle on top of the peppers. Bake until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Serve warm.