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