I had this myself in a place called Big Joes Raw Bar in Virginia Beach. My order was fries and a bowl of she-crab soup. The soup led me to thinking poutine because it was so thick and rich. So, I poured the soup on the fries; then my server said I wasn’t the first to do that. I decided to duplicated the soup and the fries. Ah the fries! They were twice fried and coated with a Old Bay spice. The cheese was my idea, and it just puts the dish over the top. I hope you like it.

Stock:
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onions, diced
8 ounces butter
8 ounces flour
16 ounces clam juice
32 ounces seafood broth
2 cup water
1 cup cream
3 whole crabs (from Crosby’s Crabs)
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sherry
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
16 ounces crab meat (from Crosby’s Crabs)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves

1 bag frozen french fries

1 8-ounce block gruyere cheese, grated

In a soup kettle on medium heat, add butter and flour and cook for 10 minutes stirring until it becomes a light blond color.

Add onions and celery and cook until soft, about 7 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add clam juice, stock, water, crabs, Old Bay, bay leaves, and simmer for 2 hours.

Add sherry, cream, Worcestershire, and pepper and simmer for one hour.

Remove crab shells and add crab meat; cook for 15 minutes.

Cook french fries per package direction.

Place cooked fries on the plate and top with cheese. Add bowl of crab soup and serve.