You have to pity the blue crab. It's "among the most heavily-harvested creatures on the planet." Widely considered the best crab meat in the world, even the blue crab's scientific name refers to the fact that it's delicious: Callinectes sapidus literally means "savory beautiful swimmer."
Blue crabs are found in brackish estuaries from Canada down to South America. In the United States, Maryland is the epicenter of blue crab deliciousness. The blue crab season officially starts in April and runs through December, but the peak of blue crab season is the summertime. Many people in the mid-Atlantic states consider eating blue crab outside on a summer evening to be the quintessential summertime activity.
The most popular way to serve blue crab is either whole or in crab cake form. Crabs served whole have to be taken apart to extract the meat; there are as many "right ways" to do this as there are crab-eaters. Most methods involve the use of a small wooden mallet to crack the claws.
The classic way to eat whole blue crabs is to lay newspaper on an outside table and go to it. Puritans usually insist that the whole crab be eaten straight from the shell and unadorned, although some people like to use a bit of cocktail sauce, melted butter, or lemon juice to dress it up a little.
Crab cakes are particularly associated with Baltimore, where there are two varieties of crab cake: Boardwalk and Restaurant. Both styles are variations on the traditional croquette, which is usually made with fish meat.
Boardwalk crab cakes have been rolled in a crumb coating and deep fried. Restaurant crab cakes usually have very little filler, and are given a quick sautee and/or bake. In both cases the crab cakes are traditionally served with fries and coleslaw, and usually a bit of dipping sauce on the side.
Image courtesy Flickr/Tuaussi
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