So, what is Blue Crab? Their scientific name, Callinectes sapidus means “savory beautiful swimmer” and indeed they are amazing swimmers with modified back legs. Blues are most sought after because of their sweet taste and tender meat. Besides, it is no surprise that blue crabs are quite expensive and have an exquisite appeal.
Seafood is becoming an intricate delicacy nowadays. In my food review journey, I have been able to sample a couple of seafood like shrimp, prawns, caviar, crabs, etc. in this piece.
I’ll take a little twist and talk about one sea delicacy that’s popular in the US- blue crabs! Yes, these coastal species of shellfish are among the most popular, colorful, and recognizable varieties.
Blue crabs come from all corners of the world, but interestingly, 50% of the world’s blue crabs come from Maryland. And due to the living conditions of Maryland crabs, they have a buttery taste. The butter comes from fat build-up by crabs during hibernation. Blue crabs are healthy and contain essential proteins and minerals. If you like to order them you can have a look at my review of the crab place.
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Soft Shell Blue Crabs
Before looking into ways of eating blue crabs, I’d love to talk about softshell crabs. Any crab that has molted within the last 12 hours has soft shells and peppery. Folks who don’t want the hassle of breaking shells prefer these kinds of blue crabs as they are soft and can be eaten as a whole. The only part you have to remove in soft-shell crabs are the gill and some parts of the abdomen.
I had a taste of soft-shell crabs sometime last summer and they were pretty nice. But I guess the best time to get them is usually between mid-May to September.
How to cook Blue Crab at home?
There are many ways how you can cook Blue Crab at home and it would take a whole website to mention and show all of them.
I found a video that shows an easy way to get started.
How To Eat Crabs
While choosing the right blue crab seems a tricky deal, picking can be tiresome. If you lack the experience or patience, you’ll rarely enjoy eating this delicacy. Luckily, blue crabs are softer than normal crabs and so they are easier to break when eating.
So, when that online order finally arrives, what do you do? Simple. Take some butter and lemon juice and place it in a separate bowl and follow these steps.
- Detach the legs and place the claws aside.
- Pull off the flap located at the far end of the abdomen
- Turn the crab upside down and pull the shell from the back peeling in a forwards direction.,
- Grab the remaining part and break it into half and break the half into another half.
- Now pick the meat from each half and dip it in lemon juice and butter
- Using a mallet, break the claws and pick the meat from it as well
Sometimes a video can explain it a lot better than I can.
I wrote more on this page about the best way to cook crab for even more information.
If you haven’t had a bite of blue crabs, I can assure you, that you’re missing out. While it can serve as a daily meal, it’s best served during special occasions. Ordering online is the best way to do this, as most restaurants have strict rules as per the global pandemic, with most opting for takeaways and drive-throughs. Blue crabs are the sweeter and tastier version of crabs, probably the best kind.
How Many Blue Crab To Serve?
it is no exact science on how to decide how many blue crab to serve. I wrote an article on how many crab legs to serve that maybe can help you out.
Some History of the Blue Crab
Around the 1600s Blue crab was a major food source for the Native Americans and this is why the European settlers also started to eat them.
Although some fishermen complained that they ate the bate of their fishing line and clogged up their nets there was not much to complain about after they ate a good meal with the blue crab.
As a matter of fact, the blue crab was the first nation’s crab long before another tasty crab-like shellfish was discovered.
There are recipes to prepare blue crab found that date back to 1685. Blue Crab become even more popular when the population started to grow and people started to eat out more.
I hope this answers the question of what is Blue crab. They are just one of the many types of seafood you can find in the best online seafood category.
