Have you ever tried crab meat? It’s actually quite tasty, only 87 calories per 3-ounce serving, and one good-sized blue crab can provide a nutritional wallop with loads of Vitamin B12, copper, phosphorus, zinc and niacin. On the flip side, it is high in cholesterol and can be pricey, so don’t overdo it. If you’re curious or just a little adventurous, it’s worth a try.

Blue Crab Fishing, Cajun Style

Types Of Crab Meat

Crab meat is versatile, but you should know your crab before you go shopping for it. Do you want whole crab, or the canned kind? The type of crab meat you want to get really depends on what you intend to do with it. The types of crab, and what you can do with it, include:

• Jumbo Lump or Lump Crab Meat: A canned crab that comes from the crab’s large swimming muscles. This meat is good in crab cocktails, solid-meat crab cakes, Crab Louis and Crab Imperial.
• Lump or Backfin Lump Crab Meat: This type of crab meat is good in dishes like Crab Benedict, Gazpacho, and pasta dishes.
• White Crab Meat: This kind is usually shredded crab meat that can be used like canned tuna. It can be used in crab cake recipes that include bread, assorted vegetables and mayonnaise, appetizers, soups and omelets.
• Claw Crab Meat: Just as it sounds like, this darker crab meat comes from the claw. It is usually more flavorful and lower in price than other types of crab meat. It’s good in cheesy melts, crab tacos and some kinds of fish stew.
• Soft shell crabs: This is a whole crab that has been caught soon after it shed its shell (molted). Most of these are blue crabs.
• Imitation crab: Isn’t crab at all. It’s usually some kind of fish mixed with other ingredients and made to look and taste like crab. The exact recipe and ingredients can vary according to the manufacturer. It can be used for most recipes that call for crab; just be aware that you’re not getting the real thing.
• Crab roe: Basically, crab eggs. Seriously. Think of crab caviar and you might get the idea.

Crab Cakes

Crabmeat Stuffing

Ingredients:

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup white pepper
• ½ cup ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 tsp whole thyme leaves
• 1 tsp whole oregano leaves
• 1 pound crab claw meat
• 1 pound crab lump meat
• 2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
• ¾ cup grated Romano cheese

Method:

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add onion and celery and sauté until onion is clear. Add garlic, wine and seasonings; simmer until wine is reduced by 1/3. Remove from heat; gently stir in crab meat and remaining ingredients. For an attractive presentation, spoon into crab shells and serve with lemon slices.

Healthy Baked Crabcake Rangoons

Stuffed Crab

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup chopped bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ cup butter or Crisco
• 5 ounces evaporate milk
• 5 slices bread with crusts removed
• 1 pound crab meat
• ½ cup chopped green onion
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2-3 drops crab boil
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Crab shells

Method:

Tear up bread slices into pieces and soak in evaporated milk. Set aside. Melt butter in pan, add onions and sauté until onions are clear. Add celery and bell pepper; sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 5 more minutes. Add crab meat, green onions, salt and pepper, Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and crab boil. Sauté on low about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn. Taste the mixture; if it doesn’t taste a little too spicy, add more Creole seasoning. You want it to be spicy! Add bread crumbs, soaked bread with evaporate milk, and parsley. Stir until blended evenly. Cook about 10 more minutes; in the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Adjust seasonings to your liking, turn off burner and let sit for 15 minutes. While you’re waiting, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange crab shells on top. Fill crab shells with crab mixture. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake for 400 minutes until bread crumbs are just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Do not overcook because this can dry out the crab mix.

Spicy Crab Pasta

The Official “How Much Seafood Do You Really Need?!” Chowder

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, diced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 7 potatoes, cubed
• 1 pound salmon, cut into chunks
• 1 pound cod, cut into chunks
• 1 pound scallops
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 ounces cooked lobster meat, shredded
• 1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat, drained and flaked
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams, drained
• 4 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups butter, cut into chunks
• Dash garlic powder
• Dash onion powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Boil a large pot of water. Add onions and carrots; simmer about 10 minutes. Add potatoes; simmer another 15 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Add salmon, cod, scallops, shrimp, lobster and crabmeat. Cook about 10 minutes on medium heat until salmon and cod are firm. Drain about half the water. Add clams, cream, and half and half. Carefully add butter chunks, being careful not to splash. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes until salmon and cod flake easily with a fork.

Do More With Crab

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