A pile of freshly caught live blue crabs
🦀 Down the Road · Outer Banks, NC · Caught local

DTR Crabs

Live Blue CrabsTo Your Door

Outer Banks Blue Crabs, caught fresh the day of delivery and brought live to your rental or home in Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head.

Order crabs Check my ZIP
🎣 Caught fresh the day of delivery ✅ Licensed NC Seafood Dealer 🚚 Next-day delivery ⚡ Same-day by 1 PM, upon availability 📍 Delivery or pickup in ⏰

Bushel prices

Live, lively and local. Two grades: #1 Jimmies (big, heavy males) and #2s (smaller or lighter crabs, lower price). Pick the grade and size that fit your crew.

A bushel basket being filled with live blue crabs at a seafood market
A bushel of live blue crabs
🚚 Next-day delivery:
⚡ Same-day delivery: + same-day crab pricing (), upon availability
Order by 1 PM (Eastern) for same-day
📍 Local pickup in : fee. Same-day pickup at same-day crab prices, upon availability

Do we deliver to you?

Enter the ZIP code where the crabs are going (your rental or home).

📍 Prefer to grab them yourself? Pick up in with . Choose "Pickup" on the order form.

Order your crabs

Choose delivery or local pickup, pick a day, fill in your details, then pay. We'll text or call to confirm.


Next-day / scheduled Same-day (same-day prices, upon availability) Unavailable
Delivery or pickup

Order summary

How it works

1

Check your ZIP

We deliver to Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head, or pick up in .

2

Pick a day

. Same-day upon availability, order by 1 PM.

3

Pay your way

Pay online with a secure link or pay at the door.

4

Steam & enjoy

Live crabs arrive cool and kicking. Cook within a few hours.

Questions & answers

How fresh are the crabs?
Your crabs are caught fresh the day of delivery and arrive live. For the best flavor and safety, cook them within a few hours of delivery. Until then:
  • Keep them cool and damp: in a cooler or bushel basket in the shade, covered with a damp towel or burlap. Ice on top in a bag (not loose) helps.
  • Don't submerge them in water or let them sit in melted ice water; it will kill them.
  • Only cook crabs that are alive. Toss any that died before cooking.
How do I steam blue crabs with Old Bay?
  1. Add about 1–2 inches of water and a splash of vinegar (or beer) to a big pot with a rack or steamer basket.
  2. Bring it to a rolling boil, then layer the crabs in, sprinkling Old Bay (and a little salt) generously over each layer.
  3. Cover tightly and steam about 20–30 minutes, until the shells are bright orange-red all over.
  4. Dump them on a newspaper-covered table, add more Old Bay, melted butter and vinegar, and pick away.
Where do you deliver, and how much is delivery?
When will my crabs arrive? What's the order cutoff?
What's the difference between #1 and #2 crabs?
How does same-day pricing work?
Same-day deposits & refunds
Same-day orders depend on today's catch, so your same-day payment is held as a deposit until we confirm your order (we'll text you shortly). If we can't fill your order today, we'll refund you in full the same way you paid, and we'll gladly get you crabs the next day instead if you'd like. Card payments may show as a pending hold that's released or refunded; Venmo / Cash App payments are refunded back to your account. If you choose pay on delivery, nothing is charged until the crabs arrive.
Can I pick up?
How far ahead can I order? Are you open all year?

You can book up to 14 days ahead. We're closed in January, when North Carolina closes crab pots north of the Highway 58 bridge (including the Outer Banks). Crabs are at their best from about April through November.

Are you licensed?

Yes. DTR Crabs is a licensed North Carolina seafood dealer, and we follow all NC Division of Marine Fisheries rules on size, season and handling.

How does payment work?