Monday's Bread Bowl: Steamed Blue Crabs

Dancing at dinner time with Chesapeake crawlers

Ah, the bang, snap and pop of crab mallets and crushers means steamed blue crab lovers are filling up. Crab connoisseurs know the four grades of crabmeat: jumbo lump, lump, white, and claw meat. Jumbo lump and lump crab meats are highly prized above the others for use in recipes, such as Crab Imperial. Crab eaters will dip the meat in vinegar and Old Bay seasoning. Some add Tabasco or a squeeze of lemon juice. Steamed crabs are sold by the dozen or by the bushel. Crowds enjoy blue crabs at seafood restaurants on the East and Gulf Coasts, especially throughout the summer and into early September. Crabbers will sort crabs by size and gender. We always get males anyway as a nod to helping preserve the harvests for future generations. Harvesting of female blue crabs is limited by law in many areas. Did you know? There is a fine in California for harvesting any female Dungeness crab. What other types of crabs have you tried?