Texas blue crabs should be proclaimed the national dish of the Golden Triangle around Beaumont.

The crustaceans are comparatively small to northeastern crabs. They get their name for their bluish shells and legs. It can be a lot of work, but after being dipped in a spicy batter and deep-fried, digging out the crab meat and sipping a cold beer can be a joyful experience.

Credit: Photos by Gerald E. McLeod

In Beaumont, Sartin’s Seafood is a great place for fried or barbecued Texas blue crabs. One branch of the family owns a place on I-10; another branch has a similar restaurant south of town in Nederland.

Just west of Beaumont, Pine Tree Lodge is worth the effort to find. The crab shack on a back road has a resident alligator in the bayou next to the parking lot waiting for table scraps. All the seafood and burgers are great, but the blue crabs are wonderful. Finding the meat among the fried shell and legs is a messy treasure hunt.

Blue crabs live all along the Texas coast from bayous to beaches. To catch your own, tie a chicken neck to a string and slowly drag it along the bottom. You will need a fishing license for a throw line without a hook. Crabbing season runs from June to October. An interesting fact about crabs is that they can regenerate lost limbs. To find out more about Texas crabs, go to www.blue-crab.org.

[Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that a fishing license is indeed required for a throw line without a hook.]

1,278th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.

This article appears in January 22 • 2016.

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Gerald E. McLeod joined the Chronicle staff in November 1980 as a graphic designer. In April 1991 he began writing the “Day Trips” column. Besides the weekly travel column, he contributed “101 Swimming Holes,” “Guide to Central Texas Barbecue,” and “Guide to the Texas Hill Country.” His first 200 columns have been published in Day Trips Vol. I and Day Trips Vol. II.