Sharing a Crabby Experience

A couple of weeks ago, I was really craving a crab cake. Not just any crab cake, a Maryland-style crab cake. The kind you eat all by themselves, on a sandwich, and/or accompanied by corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes.

Not the sort many VA restaurants serve. They are cakes of crab meat, but are often drowned in some sort of chutney, sauce, or other un-Maryland-like and insulting substance.

I was desperate. It’s not easy to find fresh Blue Crab meat around here (Central Virginia), so I used a can of the pasteurized stuff.

Yuck. It tasted like I was eating a fish cake. Crabs don’t taste like fish, they taste like crabs!

Blue Crab (Male)

 

Blue Crab (Female)

 

Blue Swimming Crabs

If the pictures of the critters themselves don’t help, this might…

Blue Swimming Crab

You recognize that, right? Know why? Because it was Phillips Seafood that started importing the stuff.  There’s a very interesting article here about Phillips’ Seafood and the Blue Swimming Crab.

Have a look some of the fresh-out-of-the-can meat from the Blue Swimming Crab…

Blue Swimming Crab Meat

I actually like using it in soup, but it makes yucky crab cakes. Unless you have the right recipe, perhaps, which I don’t.

Here’s what Blue Crab meat looks like…

Fresh Blue Crab Meat
Fresh Blue Crab Meat

I just happened to stumble across some at Costco last week. It was $23.99/pound, which may sound expensive, but it was fresh, jumbo lump, Blue Crab meat. That was a steal.

It usually comes in containers like this.

Photo 2(1)

Sometimes the pasteurized, Blue Swimming Crab will come in plastic, too. You have to read the label carefully. And look at the meat.

I made crab cakes with it last night. They were DIVINE. Really. There’s world of difference between the two.

I liked it so much, I drove back to Costco tonight for two more pounds. 🙂

I have no idea if it is sold at all Costco stores. But, if you like crab, and there’s a Costco near you, I would highly recommend that you go and buy some. It was that good. Very few shells, either.

I see some Crab Imperial in our near future…

6 Replies to “Sharing a Crabby Experience”

  1. I became addicted to crab when I started visiting my girlfriend in Baltimore regularly. Crabs are a religion there. I’ve tried canned crab but never been satisfied with them. Thanks for the review.

  2. Thanks! Now I’m going to think about crabs non-stop and I’m sure I don’t have an easy way to get blue crab here in Seattle! I guess I’ll just go drown my sorrows in Berger cookies 🙂

  3. Kathy:

    Now you tell me. I just came back from my Lobster Run and now you mentioned that I have to try out this blue crab ?

    we don’t get those out here on the Pacific Coast. we get those dungeness type which are red and brown

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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